Patel touts FBI DNA breakthrough he says busted illegal immigrant in decade-long serial rape case
An illegal immigrant is facing 30 charges in a decade-long serial rape case in Marion County, Indiana, after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) DNA collection cracked the case, authorities said.
Leonel Catalan-Torreblanca is facing 30 charges, which include felonies that carry potential sentences of up to 50 years in prison under Indiana's old penal code, Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears said during a news conference Wednesday.
The series of alleged sexual assaults spanned more than a decade, with the first reported incident in March 2013 and the most recent in January 2024.
Officials said, for years, local and federal investigators knew the crimes were connected because DNA profiles from the crime locations were linked to one another in the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but they lacked a match to a known offender.
ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF BRUTAL TIRE IRON ATTACK, SEXUAL ASSAULT OF TEXAS WOMAN
Catalan-Torreblanca had previously avoided the database because his only prior criminal history was a misdemeanor DUI arrest, which does not require a DNA swab, according to authorities.
The breakthrough came recently when an ICE collection allowed Catalan-Torreblanca's DNA profile to be entered into CODIS, triggering a match to the crime scenes.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Tim O'Malley confirmed Catalan-Torreblanca was in the country illegally, though officials said they were "not entirely sure exactly where he's from originally."
The FBI expedited and confirmed the Catalan-Torreblanca's identity on April 22, and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department's Violent Crimes Unit tracked him down and arrested him at a relative's house within four hours.
"Incredible work out of @FBIIndianapolis — our FBI teams and partners used advanced DNA technology and our Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to charge the suspect," FBI Director Kash Patel wrote in a statement on X.
Catalan-Torreblanca is being held on a standard bond. It is unclear if ICE has lodged an immigration detainer against him.
During the news conference, Mears praised the "incredible strength and resiliency" of the survivors who were asked to relive their trauma to assist detectives in bringing the charges forward.
Authorities said Catalan-Torreblanca may have lived near apartment complexes where the attacks took place, warning that there may be other victims or connected cases that lack DNA evidence.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.