Man accused in rape of girl, 12, in country illegally
Mike Peters, The Tribune
Originally published 07:09 a.m., August 20, 2008
Updated 07:09 a.m., August 20, 2008

A man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in Greeley last month is in the country illegally, according to Weld County sheriff's records, but because he was a juvenile in previous encounters with the law, he wasn't investigated by immigration officials.

Raul Jesus Mendoza is now 19, but he was prosecuted before for sexual assault on a child and designated as a sexual offender as a juvenile.

Mendoza was arrested July 27 after a 12-year-old west Greeley girl told her parents he raped her in an apartment of a mutual friend. The girl didn't report the rape for two days, then told her parents, who called the Greeley police.

Police said Mendoza had been arrested twice before:

When he was 15, Mendoza was arrested on a charge of improperly touching a young girl, but the charges were dismissed.

A year later, Mendoza was convicted of sexual assault on another girl, sentenced to two years in juvenile prison and was released after a year.