Sheriff’s Deputies Seek Migrant Worker in Rape of Poway Teen-Ager

Sheriff’s investigators said Tuesday that they are looking for a man who raped a Poway teen-ager who was reportedly pulled from her horse by migrant workers and attacked while eight people watched.

According to a sheriff’s report of the incident, the 15-year-old girl was accosted about 7:15 p.m. Sunday by a group of eight males and one female. The attack occurred behind the Old Poway Market on Midland Road.

“She was riding her horse down an alley in a business area when the group stepped in front and blocked her horse,” Sgt. Steve Wood said. “One man held her horse, while another pulled her off. Then the man who pulled her off the horse held her down while the suspect raped her.”

The assault on the girl led to a sweep of the nearby migrant camps by Border Patrol agents and sheriff’s deputies on Monday. Wood said about 83 people were detained and questioned. He said about 40 were turned over to Border Patrol agents when investigators determined that they were in this country illegally.

Wood said investigators believe that the assailant and others in the group may be illegal aliens who live in nearby camps. Earlier reports that the girl was raped by more than one man were wrong, Wood said. Investigators had no suspects in custody Tuesday, but the victim identified three people who were among the group that blocked her horse and witnessed the assault.

Investigators questioned the three and released them, Wood said. Some of the group members, including the woman, are cooperating with investigators. They may eventually be charged with being accessories to rape, Wood said. Drugs or alcohol were not believed to have been a factor in the assault, he added.

“We feel that we’ve got some pretty good leads on the suspect, but I can’t say much more about the investigation,” Wood said.

Wood said violent crimes by illegal aliens against local residents are rare.

“This is the first of this nature . . . . We’ve had some crimes in the area where this occurred, but they are generally perpetrated by aliens preying on each other. The vast majority of these crimes go unreported because the aliens are afraid of law enforcement.”

Wood’s comments were echoed by Poway City Manager James Bowersox, who said that “most of their crimes of violence are committed against fellow illegal aliens.” He also called the incident rare.

“Most of the workers who live in the camps are law-abiding and hard workers who send their money home to Mexico,” Wood said. “But we’re also seeing some younger guys who don’t have responsibilities and commit most of the crimes attributed to illegal aliens. They are the ones who make it hard for us and everyone else.”