By Anthony Gockowski
Warning: This article contains disturbing details of a sexual assault.
BEMIDJI, Minn. – For Bemidji residents, there are more questions than answers right now after police announced Thursday that 11 illegal immigrants were processed at a home where multiple minor girls were allegedly raped.
Just one person, 22-year-old Oscar Ernesto Luna of Mission, Texas, has been charged so far. He’s facing one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which comes with a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison.
According to the charging documents:
Police were called to the Sanford Bemidji emergency room at 2:15 a.m. Sept. 23 on a report of a sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl.
The victim said in an interview that she was with a woman who she called “auntie,” who was drunk and “wanted to go to a party.”
At this point, the woman allegedly made the victim get into the “Mexican guys’” car, where a bag was placed over her head as she was driven to a home in Bemidji, later identified as 1821 America Court NW. Once there, the victim was unclothed and tied up in a room with two other girls as the woman allegedly forced her to drink alcohol. A rope was also tied around her neck at some point, causing her neck to bleed.
One of the girls was “bloody and unconscious” in a closet. There were “four Mexican men present” who raped the victim. One of the men went by the name “Panda” and had “lots of tattoos,” including a teardrop on his face.
Panda “whipped” one of the girls down the stairs after she helped the victim escape by untying her.
The charging documents describe substantial injuries to the victim, who said another girl who was “chained up” had “the same thing happen to her.”
Law enforcement determined that Luna matched the description of “Panda” and later pulled over a vehicle traveling to 1821 America Court NW. Police executed a search warrant at the residence and found multiple items containing blood.
Luna denied sexually assaulting the victim in a statement to police, but admitted to knowing the victim’s “auntie” and talking with her on Facebook Messenger. Luna provided police with a DNA sample and “claimed to be born in the State of Texas.”
In a press release Thursday, Bemidji police said several other individuals were located at the residence during the execution of the search warrant and 11 of them “were transported by US Border Patrol to be processed as illegal immigrants.”
Luna was wanted on active warrants related to two DWI offenses at the time of his arrest. Jail records indicate Luna is currently in custody at the Beltrami County Jail. According to KFGO, Captain David LaZella said the other girls have not been identified.
Police did not say in their release if they expect to file additional charges but noted that the investigation remains ongoing.
This article originally appeared at Alpha News and was reprinted with permission.
