Authorities have announced the arrest of a possible suspect in connection to a pedophilic gang rape involving an 11-year-old girl that police say happened in a Minnesota town last month.
The Bemidji Police Department said in a statement on Oct. 4 that Oscar Ernesto Luna, 22, of Texas, has been charged by the Beltrami County Attorney’s Office with first-degree criminal sexual conduct. If found guilty, he faces up to 30 years in prison.
Meanwhile, police also located 12 other individuals when they executed a search warrant at the house of the alleged sexual assault incident, 11 of whom were taken by U.S. Border Patrol to be processed for being in the country illegally.
Border agents told KVLY-TV that they are all males aged 18 to 56.
None of the individuals could be immediately identified as suspects in the rape case or victims of human trafficking, police said, further pointing out that they’re currently investigating whether any of the men may have any involvement in the case.
Border officials told the news outlet that two of the 12 individuals have already been released, while the remaining 10 were transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
House of Horrors
On Sept. 23, the Sanford Medical Center’s Emergency Department notified Bemidji police at 2:15 a.m. about a sexual assault complaint involving a minor girl, according to a police statement of probable cause.
After arriving at the medical center, Officer Tyler Schlattman learned from a relative of the 11-year-old victim—identified in the court documents only as V.K.—that her niece had been sexually assaulted at a residence in Bemidji.
During an interview, V.K. told investigators that she was accompanied by Verna Fairbanks, a 24-year-old woman she was staying with and whom she called “auntie.”
Ms. Fairbanks was reportedly drunk and told V.K. that she wanted to go to a party. She then arranged a ride for them, and soon after, a silver four-door vehicle came. The woman then forced V.K. to enter the car and told her that she would take a separate ride with one of her friends.
The girl recalled that “Mexican guys” put a bag over her head after entering the vehicle and brought her to a house where she was tied up in a room accompanied by two other girls. In this room, Ms. Fairbanks forced her to drink alcohol by grabbing her mouth and using her nails. At some point, a rope was also tied around her neck, V.K. recalled.
While she was tied up, V.K. was stripped of her clothes and gang raped by “four Mexican men,” one of whom she described as “heavier set” with “lots of tattoos” on his arms, neck, and legs, as well as having an orange eyebrow piercing. This man went by the nickname “Panda” and was later identified as Mr. Luna.
According to the documents, Mr. Luna has denied sexually assaulting the girl but admitted knowing Ms. Fairbanks. He also provided a consensual DNA sample for testing. No information regarding possible charges against Ms. Fairbanks has been announced, but police did indicate that more charges may be coming.
Mr. Luna was previously charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in July, jail records show. He is currently being held at the Beltrami County Jail on charges of rape of a minor.
While undergoing a physical examination, V.K. was tearful and had numerous visible abrasions on her body, including on her right wrist, which she said was from the rope they used to tie her up, as well as on her right knee and left inner thigh. Police noted that they also have photographs of the burn marks left by the rope around her neck.
The examination also revealed abrasions in the area of her posterior fourchette and swelling on her right and left labia minora. She described the pain level in her privates as being an 8 out of 10, saying it still hurts to urinate and wipe.
The Escape
The victim said she witnessed another girl, whom she identified as approximately 16 years old, being assaulted “in the closet,” adding that the girl was “bloody and unconscious.”
Police confirmed on Oct. 4 that one of the females described by V.K. had been located, however, that individual has been identified as an adult and did not report being assaulted. She also told investigators that she was not aware of a third victim in the house.
As police executed their initial search warrant on Sept. 23, they did not locate a third victim either. In the department’s latest update, detectives said that they are continuing to investigate the possibility of a third victim.
One of the other girls also held in the home helped to untie V.K., which allowed her to escape, according to the court documents.
The case has garnered national attention with a series of high-profile figures, including the presidential campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which criticized the Biden administration for failing to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
“This story is heartbreaking, and sadly one that is becoming all too familiar in Joe Biden’s America,” Carly Atchison, national spokeswoman for the DeSantis campaign, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“There is a real human cost of having an open border, and we cannot afford another four years of failed, weak leadership,” she added, further pointing out that she believes Mr. DeSantis “will shut down the border, stop the invasion, build the wall, and protect American families” if elected as president.
