An asylum seeker from Venezuela is in custody after allegedly raping a woman in an upstate New York hotel room on Aug. 2 in the presence of a 3-year-old child, officials reported.
Jesus Guzman-Bermudez, 26, has been arrested and charged with rape, unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child after authorities claim he raped a woman with whom he had a relationship in front of a child while staying at a hotel in Cheektowaga, WBEN News reported. Guzman-Bermudez and the woman were reportedly among 500 migrants who were bussed into Erie County from New York City, the outlet reported. (RELATED: ‘A Catastrophe’: GOP Rep Slams NYC Mayor Eric Adams For Busing Migrants Out Of Sanctuary City And Into The Suburbs)
26-year-old Jesus Guzman-Bermudez appeared in Cheektowaga Town Court on Wednesday for a felony hearing that lasted a few minutes. He remains remanded to the custody of police after he was charged with rape of a fellow migrant he knew and had a three-year-old child with. pic.twitter.com/UHrcPjQ5IS
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“Not sure if they’re married or not, but they’re definitely some type of couple,” Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said of the relationship between Guzman-Bermudez and the alleged victim. “It wasn’t like an incident where this individual went out in town, grabbed some victim and took them back to the hotel room. That’s not the case here. They clearly knew one another.”
A caseworker for the alleged victim learned of the incident and passed it up the chain of command, ultimately leading to the involvement of authorities, the outlet stated.
Guzman-Bermudez was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday. A grand jury is investigating the matter further, and a temporary protective order for the alleged victim remains in place.
If Guzman-Bermudez is convicted of rape, he will face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, according to WBEN News.