Man charged with raping girl smuggled into United States



Pascual Francisco


Posted Dec. 30, 2007
3:35 PM

Milford (AP) _ Milford police say they've charged a Maryland man with raping a girl who was among a group of illegal immigrants he was allegedly transporting across the country.

Police say Francisco Pascual, who is 25, was being held Sunday on a $1 million bond on charges of sexual assault, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, risk of injury and assault. He was arrested after a girl, whose age was not released, told officers that he had raped her in a Milford hotel room after dropping off the other illegal immigrants he was driving to various spots across the U.S.

The girl was able to escape, and officers found her lost and wandering at a Milford gas station Saturday morning after a concerned citizen called them.

Police say the girl's mother, who lives in the Boston area, told officers she had paid to have her daughter smuggled into from Mexico into the U.S. from their native El Salvador.

Immigration agents and state child-welfare officials were notified.

It was not immediately known whether the girl would be held in state custody, or allowed to stay with her mother in the Boston area while the investigation continues.

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