Mexico charges U.S. man in rapes

A New Mexico man accused of repeatedly crossing into Mexico and raping at least 13 women in their homes was formally notified of the charges he faces Tuesday in Mexico.

Gustavo Haro, 32, was arrested Sunday in sprawling Ciudad Juarez, across the Rio Grande from El Paso. According to Mexican authorities, Haro, a U.S. citizen from nearby Sunland Park, N.M., targeted women in middle-class neighborhoods since August 2006.

Haro often made his way into the homes of victims by knocking on doors to ask for jumper cables for a stalled car, or by showing them a gun and forcing his way in, Juarez police said.

“The investigation started about five months ago, and thanks to the help of American authorities we found and arrested this man, the same who was recognized by the majority of the victims,” said Mario Ruiz Nava, a Mexican government spokesman.

Haro remains jailed in Juarez, but it was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer. In Sunland Park, the home at an address listed for a Gustavo Haro was fenced off Tuesday.

Mexican authorities gave El Paso police a partial license plate number and description of a vehicle seen near the women’s homes, El Paso officer Chris Mears said. El Paso detectives compiled a list of people whose vehicles and license plate numbers fit the description and sent it back, he said.