2 North Texas church employees raped 14-year-old girl who had hands tied, warrant says
Alvaro Jimenez and Luis Escobar took turns raping a 14-year-old Carrollton girl in 2018 at Escobar’s home while her hands were tied behind her back, and if she fought back, one would hold her down while the other sexually assaulted her, according to a warrant.
The teen, who met the men at Ministerios Bethania USA — the church in Carrollton where they worked — was raped at least four times during the attack, she told police.
The teen became pregnant from the sexual assault and got an abortion in 2018 after her father drove her to get one. She had told her parents that a boy from school had gotten her pregnant, according to the warrant obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The girl, who is now 18, made an outcry in September 2021, which prompted an investigation by Carrollton police. Detectives arrested the two men on Tuesday.
Carrollton police identified the suspects as Ministerios Bethania USA teacher Luis Escobar, 59, and church office assistant Alvaro Jimenez, 71.
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The two were in the Dallas County Jail on Thursday with bond set at $300,000 bond each.
Escobar and Jimenez face three charges each of aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to Dallas County Jail records.
Carrollton police said the alleged sexual assaults did not occur on church property.
“Our thoughts and prayers go first to the victim and her family who have suffered and have had the courage to speak out,” according to a statement from Ministerios Bethania USA on the church’s website. “We pray that God may grant them comfort and consolation with justice. We are leaving the investigation in the hands of the Carrollton Police Department.”
The girl told Carrollton detectives that she had not told anyone about the assaults until September 2021 because Jimenez threatened to get her in trouble with her mother if she told anyone.
The warrant written by Carrollton Detective J. Cackler provided these details on the case:
The teen told Carrollton police that one day in May 2018 Jimenez, who was at her home, asked her mother if he could take her to get something to eat. The girl described Jimenez and Escobar as pastors at that time.
Instead of getting something to eat, Jimenez took the girl to Escobar’s apartment in Addison.
When asked how and why she ended up there, the girl said that Jimenez told her that Escobar was a gymnastics teacher, and she wanted to know more about gymnastics. Jimenez told her Escobar could show her how to stretch.
Once she got the apartment, the girl was given a drink and a pill which made her sleepy, according to the warrant.
Jimenez took the girl to Escobar’s bedroom, where he started touching her body. Escobar also began touching her.
“Then they took my clothes off,” the girl told a Carrollton detective, according to the warrant.
Her hands were tied behind her back with a rope, and the two men took turns sexually assaulting the teen, according to the warrant.
At times, Jimenez hit the teen to get her to comply.
After she was attacked, the men left her in the room, and Jimenez later drove her home.
Her mother noticed something was wrong, but the teen did not tell her about the sexual assaults.
A month later, the teen found out that she was pregnant from the attack and she got an abortion in June 2018.
After the May 2018 attack, Jimenez raped her at least three other times either in his car or at his apartment, she told police.
In one incident, Jimenez slapped her and threw her to the ground because she was trying to defend herself.
The teen said she later dropped out of school and couldn’t sleep because of the sexual assaults.
The two men later started living at the church, 2405 E. Belt Line Road in Carrollton.
The girl told Carrollton police it took her more than two years to get the courage to talk about the sexual assaults.
“I was sexually assaulted by two people,” the girl told a Carrollton detective, according to the warrant. “I was only 14, and I was so scared.”
Anyone with information on the case or anyone else who may have been a victim of the men should call Carrollton police at 972-466-3324, police said.
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 12:33 PM.
