'Most Wanted' TV show to highlight El Paso rape case airs tonight
By Adriana M. Chávez \ El Paso Times
Posted: 11/11/2010 12:00:00 AM MST


For 15 years, Jeremiah McCrimmon has been waiting for the day that his alleged rapist is brought to justice.

He's hoping that after this weekend, he'll see that day soon.

McCrimmon, 30, was recently interviewed for an episode of "America's Most Wanted," which will air Saturday on Channel 14-KFOX, but he had been trying for years to attract national exposure to El Paso law enforcement's search for Arturo Blanco, 55, the man McCrimmon says raped him on July 5, 1995.

Normally the El Paso Times doesn't identify victims of sexual assault, but McCrimmon agreed to be identified in hopes of aiding the search for Blanco.

Since last year, McCrimmon has pressed the El Paso County Sheriff's Office to use its Manhunt Monday feature to seek Blanco.

McCrimmon said he was 15 when he met Blanco while selling newspapers at the intersection of Dyer and Fred Wilson streets. McCrimmon said Blanco approached him with a job offer with higher pay.

"He owned some kind of music business and sold instruments," McCrimmon said. "He gave me a business card and showed it to my mom. We thought it was legit, so I called him back."

McCrimmon said that on July 5, Blanco picked him up at a nearby convenience store and took McCrimmon to Blanco's home on Obsidian Street. Once there, Blanco allegedly raped McCrimmon, then dropped McCrimmon off at a bus stop.

"He offered me money and said he would pay me for more sex," McCrimmon said. "I was scared and crying, so I agreed. I took the bus home,
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and once I got home, I told my mom."

McCrimmon's mother called police, who arrested Blanco later that day.

Blanco was eventually indicted for the rape in 1995, but he never showed up to court to answer the charges, McCrimmon said.

In 2002, a grand jury also indicted Blanco on two counts of sexual assault of a child. McCrimmon, who once worked at the District Clerk's Office, remembers stumbling upon the indictment while at work.

McCrimmon said he ran for the district clerk position earlier this year in hopes of gaining name recognition and assisting in his search for Blanco.

He also contacted the producers of several national television shows, including "Oprah," and contacted sheriff's officials through Facebook to try to get Blanco captured.

McCrimmon's story caught the eye of sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jesse Tovar, and after Tovar featured Blanco in Manhunt Monday in September, producers of "America's Most Wanted" contacted McCrimmon about featuring Blanco on their show.

"Because of Jeremiah's persistence in contacting us, that's what pretty much spearheaded the whole thing," Tovar said.

Tovar said that so far deputies have received tips that Blanco may be in the northern United States or in Mexico.

Since making his story public, McCrimmon said, he's been contacted by a potential third victim. "I know how tough it is, but I tell them them to try and come forward," McCrimmon said. "He (Blanco) deserves to be behind bars for as long as possible."

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_16578443



I would bet money that this guy is an illegal.