ICE: Undocumented immigrants in Md. rape friend's 11-year-old sister on separate occasions

GERMANTOWN, Md. (ABC7) — Two undocumented immigrants are accused of raping an 11-year-old girl on different occasions, the common denominator being a friendship with the victim's older brother.

Montgomery County Police have arrested Mauricio Barrera-Navidad, 29, of Damascus, and Carlos Palacios-Amaya, 28, of Gaithersburg, and charged each with second-degree rape.

Last month, the victim — now 12-years-old — spoke with a social worker at her middle school in Germantown. Talking through tears, the girl shared the painful details about what both men allegedly did to her.

WHAT HAPPENED

In September 2018, the victim was introduced to her older brother's friend, Palacios-Amaya. Over the course of the next few months, the then 27-year-old man raped the middle schooler on multiple occasions, authorities allege. The victim recalled one instance where Palacios-Amaya "used his cell phone to video record the two of them having sex," police noted in court documents.

The victim told the social worker that Palacios-Amaya would often pressure her not to attend school so that she could stay home while her parents were at work. That gave Palacios-Amaya unsupervised access to the girl.

Investigators say while reviewing the victim’s cell phone, they located numerous photographs of Palacios-Amaya with the girl.

The other suspect, Barrera-Navidad, reportedly attended the victim's older brother's birthday party on July 2018. The celebration took place at a mobile home park in Germantown.

At one point in the evening, Barrera-Navidad and the 11-year-old victim entered a bedroom. According to police, Barrera-Navidad raped the girl and then continued to communicate with her via cell phone for an undisclosed period of time thereafter.

THE SUSPECTS

According to court documents, Barrera-Navidad was born in El Salvador, has four children and works for a demolition company. Up until his arrest, he was residing at his brother-in-law's home along the 25900 block of Largo Court in Damascus.

Montgomery County District Court Judge Sherri Koch granted Barrera-Navidad a $100,000 (post 10 percent) bond. He remains incarcerated while awaiting trial.

Less biographical information is presently known about Palacios-Amaya, but Montgomery County District Court Judge Eric Nee denied him bond, perhaps because Palacios-Amaya is charged with four rape counts while Barrera-Navidad is charged with one.

Up until his arrest, Palacios-Amaya was residing along the 18300 block of Quondal Court in Gaithersburg.

ICE WEIGHS IN

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tells ABC7 that Barrera-Navidad and Palacios-Amaya are both living in the country illegally.

In December 2016, an immigration judge issued Barrera-Navidad a "final order of removal." It's unclear why the Salvadoran national remained in the country.

In 2014, federal authorities removed Palacios-Amaya from the U.S. for an undisclosed reason. The 28-year-old — who ICE referred to as a "repeat immigration violator" — returned to the U.S. on an unknown date.

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