A man who had been deported in connection to a 1987 Travis County homicide was arrested Thursday on charges he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a woman last month with her toddler nearby.
Police have charged Juan Lopez, 46, with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault in connection to the Jan. 16 incident. The arrest affidavit states Lopez and the victim have known each other for more than a year, and would frequently provide rides to each other. Police say Lopez arranged to get a ride from the victim on Jan. 16, and was providing her with verbal instructions as they drove along southbound Interstate 35. The affidavit also stated the victim’s toddler son was riding in the back seat.
According to the affidavit, Lopez told the victim to take exit 223 for Creedmoor and pulled a knife on her as they drove along the frontage road. He told the victim to pull over on a private drive, and police say he pulled the victim out of the vehicle and sexually assaulted her.
The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force arrested Lopez without incident Thursday night. They noted he was carrying identification from the Mexican Federal Electoral Institute, and learned upon investigation that he was convicted in a Travis County homicide in 1987 under the name Delfino Torres-Ayala. U.S. Marshals said Lopez was released in 2009 from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and subsequently deported to Mexico.
Lopez was booked into the Travis County Jail. Online records state he is being held on combined $150,000 bond and an ICE detainer.
