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Man On Top 15 Most Wanted List Arrested In Las Cruces

 

Las Cruces Police and agents from the U.S. Marshals Office arrested one of New Mexico’s top 15 fugitives wanted for sexually assaulting and threatening a teenage girl.

Javier S. Mendez, 60, was arrested Friday morning at a Las Cruces motel where he was registered under a fictitious name. Mendez is charged with three counts of criminal sexual penetration of a child, and one count each of intimidation of a witness and stalking.

Las Cruces Police detectives learned that Mendez sexually assaulted the girl for the first time in July 2010 and continued to do so until April of 2011. Mendez knew the girl’s mother and assaulted the teen in her home while her mother was at work.

Mendez threatened to report the girl, now 16, and her mother to immigration officials if the teen reported the abuse to police. Detectives learned that when police began investigating the girl’s claims, Mendez began aggressively followed the girl to and from school, and threatened to harm her friends.

 

Mendez was on the U.S. Marshals Service Top 15 list of offenders in New Mexico. Mendez is expected to be incarcerated at the Dona Ana County Detention Centerwith a cash bond set at $80,000.