A man has been taken into custody following the discovery of a 16-year-old girl who had been missing from Boise, Idaho for several days, located in Houston on Monday.
Ruben Dario Visquerra Aguilar, 24, is currently facing charges for harboring a runaway in Harris County, but he is also confronting far more severe allegations in Idaho related to first-degree kidnapping and human sex trafficking of a child.
He is currently being held in Houston following a detainer issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to an ICE spokesperson who spoke with KPRC 2. The spokesperson noted that Aguilar is a Guatemalan national who entered the country unlawfully as an unaccompanied minor.
A teenager gathered their belongings, wrote a note, and departed from home on October 10, as reported by the Boise Police Department. Investigators discovered that she had been communicating with someone over the internet.
Aguilar faces allegations of compensating an individual to transport the teenager from Boise to Houston, according to records. Authorities in Boise continue to look into the identity of the individual who transported the teenager.
HPD reports that Aguilar was taken into custody at a residence located in the 9700 block of Sutton Meadows Court on the northwest side on Monday, where the girl was discovered with him.
On Wednesday, outside the residence, Aguilar’s relatives informed KPRC 2 that he had given a stranger approximately $2,000 for the transportation of the teenager, who communicated to an adult family member through WhatsApp that she was 19 prior to her arrival in Houston.
In a statement made in Spanish, a relative of Aguilar revealed that he had connected with the teenager on Facebook and they had been communicating for a few weeks. The young girl expressed her desire to be his partner.
The relatives expressed that they believed everything was fine until multiple police units showed up at their residence.
A young girl was transported to the hospital for assessment.
Authorities are investigating a reported sexual assault, with court documents revealing that the girl had noticeable marks on her neck.
Authorities in Boise have indicated that she is likely to return home soon, and there may be further federal charges forthcoming for Aguilar.
Authorities indicated that online hints played a role in the investigation, yet Aguilar’s relatives expressed their surprise, stating they were unaware the teenager had left home.
Reference: Missing Boise teen found in Texas, suspect arrested for sex trafficking