A judge in Chandler, Arizona, is set to release a Guatemalan man who was arrested for kidnapping and repeatedly raping a Kansas teen.
Police in Chandler arrested Cristian Leonardo Caal Mucu, a Guatemala native who is in the U.S. illegally, for transporting a 14-year-old girl from Kansas when officers found the girl at an Extended Stay America hotel in Chandler, KNXV-TV reported.
Investigators quizzing the girl say she told them she met Caal Mucu two years ago when she was babysitting his sister’s children and they began a sexual relationship. Ultimately, she left Kansas with Caal Mucu on the morning of July 20 and ended up in the hotel room in Chandler.
Officers arrested Caal Mucu at his job. He admitted to having repeated sexual relations with the girl. During his court appearance, Caal Mucu claimed he did nothing wrong and insisted that the teen was his “girlfriend.”
https://youtu.be/AKjcV9qcUro?si=eZuYZ7wSrV8jRU66
“I’m not kidnapping anybody, and I knew what I was doing was a felony, and I discussed it with her, and I understand it’s a felony, and I would like to be responsible if she ends up pregnant,” he told the court.
Prosecutors pointed out that Caal Mucu was in the U.S. illegally, was known to have several false IDs, and is a likely flight risk.
Still, a judge ordered Caal-Mucu held on a $50,000 cash-only bond, which the suspect said he was able to pay.
According to KSAW-TV, the suspect will be released on electronic monitoring, but won’t be released to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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