Man extradited from Mexico to be arraigned in Bellevue for child rape charges
BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) — Bellevue police say a 32-year-old man who fled to Mexico to avoid facing child rape charges has been extradited. Victor Cerda is to be arraigned Tuesday in King County Superior Court.
Police said in a statement Monday that Cerda was charged in 2003 with two counts of second-degree child rape.
Authorities say he fled to Mexico shortly after he was charged, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Prosecutors have since amended the charges to two counts of first-degree child rape.
In 2011, Bellevue detectives began working with the U.S. Marshals to find Cerda in Mexico. Cerda was arrested earlier this year in Jalisco, Mexico, and later extradited to Washington state.
He is being held in King County Jail on $300,000 bail.
Cerda's public defender, Josephine Wiggs-Martin, declined comment on Monday.