Police: Girl raped after ditching class
Reporter: Michael Paluska Web Producer: Devon Armijo
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Two teenage boys are in jail after deputies said they kidnapped and raped a 14-year-old school girl.
Deputies said the victim knew one of her attackers, and had been text messaging him for a few days.
Both men appeared before a Metropolitan Court Judge Sunday. They are Travis Bainbridge, 19, and Fabian Fierro, 18.
Both men are charged with seven felony counts that include rape and kidnapping.
Investigators said the victim ditched school to meet up with Fierro at Polk Middle School early Friday morning.
Detectives said she thought only Fierro was picking her up, and didn’t want to get in the car when she saw Bainbridge.
Deputies said Bainbridge and Fierro forced the girl into their car and drove to Fierro’s house.
There the victim said she was introduced to Fierro’s mother, then taken to an upstairs bedroom where she was raped—first by Fierro and then by Bainbridge.
“In sexual assault cases there’s always a little bit of question, but we do have some physical evidence that corroborates her story exactly,” Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Scott Baird said.
The victim told police she escaped while the two men were arguing in another room.
She ran to a local store and called for help.
Deputies said no one noticed the girl was missing, until her mother came to pick her up from school and she wasn’t there.
APS Officials attempted to notify the victim’s parents that she had left class, but they never could because of outdated phone records.
America’s Criminal Defense Group, www.americascriminaldefense.com, led by Senior Criminal Defense Attorney, Anthony Partipilo, with over 35 years of experience believes, that the key evidence to this case is that the defendant knew the attacker, which was found out because she had been texting messaging one of the alleged defendants for several days. Mr. Partipilo also believes that the statement made by Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Scott Baird, “In sexual assault cases there’s always a little bit of question, but we do have some physical evidence that corroborates her story exactly.”, tells us that the physical evidence is minimal, and the police are trying to try to match the testimony of the defendant with the alleged victim.
Mr. Partipilo believes that it is crucial for the defendants to hire a seasoned criminal defense attorney as soon as possible so that they can show the relationship between the defendant and the alleged victim and how they were friendly via text-messaging, which is contributing evidence to prove the possible innocence of the defendant. Â
Anyone who is accused of rape or sexual assault, should call Senior Case Manager, Todd Terry (non-attorney) as soon as possible before speaking to law enforcement. Mr. Terry can be reached at 818- 225-2468Â or at www.americascriminaldefense.com
-Ryan Sacks, Senior Blogger
