Thread: Rape case shows flaw in official Mexican documents

Rape case shows flaw in official Mexican documents
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Story Published: Nov 28, 2007 at 5:30 PM PST

Story Updated: Nov 28, 2007 at 6:52 PM PST
By Dan Tilkin and KATU Web Staff

http://www.katu.com/news/11899006.html

PORTLAND, Ore. - A KATU On Your Side investigation reveals a serious flaw in the security of official Mexican documents that goes beyond what local law enforcement typically sees.

It involves an illegal alien convicted of raping a 12-year-old Portland girl and new evidence that he may have tried to cheat the legal system using an official document from Mexico to say he was younger than his actual age.

The case began on March 13 of this year, when a north Portland woman and her husband heard an unfamiliar voice coming from their daughter's bedroom at 4:30 a.m., according to court records and the mother.

"I didn't have time to think or cry," recalled the mother, who agreed to talk to KATU on the condition of anonymity.

According to court records, her husband went into the room and Omar Alvarez Munoz ran out. The father captured Munoz, and in the ensuing struggle, Munoz pushed the mother, knocking her to the floor and injuring her arm. The husband was able to grab Munoz and hold him until police arrived, court records said.

Then, court records said, Munoz admitted to police he had sex with the girl on "three or four occasions."

"The first few days I felt a lot of anger," said the mother, "but I realized that what happened wasn't her fault because she was just a 12-year-old girl."

Munoz, pictured at right, was brought to Multnomah County's juvenile detention facility after he told police he was 17 years old.

But the staff there talked to his employer and learned Munoz was actually 19 and in the country illegally.

Munoz was eventually transferred to the rougher, tougher adult jail in downtown Portland while he awaited his trial on Measure 11 adult crimes.

Then a birth certificate from Mexico arrived that included an official signature proving Munoz was born in 1989 - meaning he was 17 after all. Munoz's defense attorney provided it to the court, and Munoz was moved back to the more comfortable juvenile detention facility.

Weeks went by and Multnomah County prosecutors offered a plea bargain of 18 to 24 months behind bars.

"The defendant and the defense attorney represented that the defendant was 17 and that he was very immature," Deputy District Attorney Josh Lamborn explained in court recently, "and that based on that information there was some negotiation downward in sentence."

On Aug. 9, which happened to be Munoz's birthday, he accepted the deal. He would be sent to the state prison for 18 months.

The victim's family thought Munoz pulled one over on the court.

"I am hurt because we are here legally, and they did not treat us fairly," said the girl's mother. "I ask whoever could help me so I could get justice. I will not stay with that sour taste in my mouth."

The victim's family members are legal U.S. residents, but it turns out they are from the same hometown in Mexico as the man who raped their daughter.

Relatives of the victim in Tepic, Mexico, obtained another copy of Munoz's birth certificate from officials there. It is identical to the one sent to Oregon in all but two critical respects:

Most importantly, Munoz's year of birth is shown as 1987 rather than 1989 - meaning Munoz was 19 when the offense occurred.
In addition, the birth certificate obtained by the victim's family is notarized. The document the defense attorney presented in the Oregon court that showed Munoz as 17 was not.
An examination of the official signatures at the bottom of each birth certificate seems to reveal that the same official signed each document.

In his 10 years as a prosecutor, Josh Lamborn said he has never seen a similar scenario.

"I'm no handwriting expert, but this signature is exact," Lamborn said.

The Mexican Consulate in Portland produced a copy of a third birth certificate with the same signature as the other two. It also has the same date of birth as the birth certificate obtained by the victim's family - the one showing Munoz was 19.

So where, KATU wanted to know, did the birth certificate showing Munoz as 17 come from? We asked via e-mail to speak about the case with defense attorney Lynn Dickison.

After several attempts, Dickison responded several weeks later in an e-mail: "Unfortunately, I will not be able to comment on the case. I respect my client's confidentiality."

However, Dickison told the judge in this case: "I am well aware that birth certificates, and the changing thereof, is easier to do in Mexico then they are here, and I need to learn about that."

KATU also wanted to talk to the Mexican Consulate in Portland about how there could be such an important discrepancy on an official Mexican document.

After several phone calls and e-mails, the Acting Consul, David Simon Figueras, responded in writing saying the case is "confidential" and that "the government of Mexico works closely with ... the United States ..." and they "have implemented mechanisms in which we can certify authentic documents and detect counterfeit documentation."

Lamborn, the prosecutor, told KATU he tried to find out more about the discrepancy in documents.

"I had a conversation with (the consulate) about that," said Lamborn, pictured at left, "and I don't think they really want to discuss whether this is possible or how how it happened."

The truth is the age discrepancy may not have made a huge difference in Munoz's sentence.

As is often done, prosecutors looked at similar cases to determine a proper sentence to offer Munoz as part of a plea bargain.

They compared his case to that of an 18 year old who raped an 11 year old and was offered a 30-month prison sentence.

They also compared it to a 30 year old who assaulted a 13 year old and got a 60-month plea offer.

They then looked at a 19 year old who raped a 13 year old and got 24 months.

Munoz was offered 18 to 24 months and received 18.

The fact the system convicted him as a 17 year old may have only saved him six months behind bars.

But the judge in this case says identity fraud challenges the legal system on a daily basis.

"I can't say it's a problem between Americans and foreign nationals - that one's more prevalent than the other," said Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Albrecht, referring to her own experience. "But if we're not exercising justice over the person that needs to be administered over, then that is a miscarriage of justice.

The case will be back in court in January as the district attorney pursues contempt of court and probation violation charges against Munoz, leaving the victim's mother to wait for complete justice for her 12-year-old daughter.

"She is not doing good, but I make sure that she's OK," said the girl's mother about her daughter. "She's seeing a psychologist. And I tell her that she needs to overcome this and that she has her mother and father - that we aren't going to turn our backs on her."

Here is the perfect tale of LEGAL immigrant vs ILLEGAL alien.

The victim & her family, as well as the criminal come from the same Mexican town.

The alien is provided with a birth certificate "edited" in his favor, by the Mexican government. WHY?

The victim and her family are understandably upset by all that's happened. Where is the outrage for this little girl?