Pensacola, Fl
Authorities made an arrest 10 months after she said a 77-year-old woman was brutally raped at a living facility in southwest Houston.
The Harris County Sheriff’s office has been searching for the suspect who is seen in a video clip from inside a living facility at Building 13800 of Canyon Hill Drive in the Beechnut area. Investigators say he shows the rapist entering the facility around 8 p.m.
“She doesn’t feel safe in her home anymore,” says Galing Bunim, the victim’s daughter. “She believes that whoever knocks on her door will hurt her or hurt her.”
“We believe that grandparents, especially grandmothers, are sacred beings,” said Cynthia Roth, Harris County Police Detective. “These are very special people in our life, and knowing that Jeddah was abused in this way disgusted me.”
Ruth was able to identify the surveillance video that captured the suspect, then spent months gathering enough evidence to bring charges.
Authorities say the man in the video is 29-year-old Brian Arellano Monasterio. Monasterio was arrested Wednesday. He was charged with two counts of gross sexual assault on the elderly and one count of aggravated theft of a person over 65 years old.
The Elderly Abuse Division of Harris County Attorney’s Office is pursuing the case.
According to the authorities, the attacker broke into a safe area, where he pretended to be a maintenance worker. He covered the victim’s hatch before making his way into her apartment. Representatives say he then dragged the woman into the bedroom, raped her, stole $ 160, and threatened to kill her before leaving.
An anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers helped identify Monasterio, whose DNA has subsequently been matched with the case.
According to Assistant Prosecutor Mary McFadden, who is the head of the Elderly Abuse Division, Monsatrio told the victim, “He raped her because he had not had sex with an Asian woman.”
“He violated her safety zone. Her house violated. He violated it. On many levels, this is a terrible assault,” said McFadden.
Monastero was charged with two counts of gross sexual assault against an elderly person and one count of aggravated theft of an elderly person. He faces life imprisonment if convicted.
Monastrio appeared on Wednesday afternoon before a judge.
“I just want him to realize that what he did was wrong,” Bonnem said. “He’s not human because of what he’s done. He’s someone’s son. He hurt someone’s mother, and he shouldn’t be doing that.”
Given the infamous nature of the crime, Bunim said her family is grateful that the case was not lost with prosecutors and investigators.
“They made us feel as though they were not just going to blow us up, but just another crime in Houston,” Bonnem said. “They really made us feel like they tried everything they could.
