The Smith County Sheriff’s Office helped recover a missing 14-year-old along with the FBI earlier this month.
According to Sheriff Joel Houston, the juvenile, reported missing by her family on August 4, was found at a home in Smith County.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office in Texas initially handled the missing person report, believing the girl had crossed state lines after meeting someone online. The FBI was brought in due to the interstate nature of the case.
Houston said Smith County Deputies, working closely with the FBI, were instrumental in locating the juvenile at a local house. Shortly after her recovery, deputies arrested 29-year-old Julio Cesar De la Cruz Ordonez on charges of statutory rape. Ordonez is being held at the Smith County Jail on a $150,000 bond set by Justice Court Judge Easterling.
The juvenile has been safely reunited with her family. The case will now proceed to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecution. Due to the ongoing nature of this investigation, involving multiple local and federal agencies and a minor, no further details are being released at this time.
