A man from Honduras who entered the United States illegally has been arrested and accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in a park in Florida on January 2, 2025.
At the time of the incident, the suspect was described as a Hispanic man between 30 and 40 years old who did not speak English.
The undocumented man, Santo Martinez Varela, originally from Honduras, illegally entered the United States through the Mexican border in 2023. He was arrested by detectives from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office on January 11, 2025.
A DNA warrant confirmed Varela’s identity, and he was subsequently booked into the Palm Beach County Jail.
Varela was presented before a Palm Beach judge on Sunday morning and remains in custody without bond.
