Child rape trial may heighten tensions

One of ‘America’s Most Wanted’ fugitives was captured in Mexico.

Man drowns in Caesar Creek Lake
Updated 1 min. ago
CHCA students win Math Olympics awards
New 13 min. ago
Lakota to discuss open enrollment proposal
12:30 p.m.
Beach Waterpark sued for failure to deliver
12:25 p.m.
Road closing for railroad repairs
11:51 a.m.
> More headlines

By Denise G. Callahan, Staff Writer 11:11 PM Saturday, January 28, 2012

HAMILTON — One of Butler County’s most wanted suspects and former fugitive Alfredo Lopez Cruz is set to go on trial Monday for raping a 9-year-old Hamilton girl on Father’s Day 2005.

Cruz, 26, who has been designated Butler County’s most wanted fugitive for the past six years, allegedly snatched the girl off her bicycle and took her to a house in the 700 block of Sycamore Street, where he raped her. He later fled the country to Mexico and was captured by authorities there in September.

Public outrage over the crime sparked a week of unrest in the 4th Ward neighborhood and heightened racial tension there in 2005.

The Sycamore Street home where the alleged rape occurred was razed after being vandalized and twice set on fire.

Because of the notoriety of his client — Cruz was featured on the television show “America’s Most Wanted” four times — and intense local media coverage, his attorney Lawrence Hawkins asked the judge to move the trial to another jurisdiction.

Judge Keith Spaeth will attempt to seat a local jury first, beginning on Monday.

Cruz has worn a bulletproof vest for his own protection at all the pretrial proceedings.

Hawkins said he expects his client will wear it for trial also, although it won’t be evident to the jury, he’ll wear it under his street clothes. Ankle shackles and bulletproof vests can send a prejudicial message to the jury about the defendant, so courts put skirts around the attorneys’ tables to shield the protective measures from view.

The alleged rape “set the whole neighborhood up in flames,” said Mike Jenkins, a 33-year-old father of six who grew up in the close-knit, diverse neighborhood of the 4th Ward.

Jenkins said tensions remained high for about a year after the incident between Mexican immigrants and everyone else in the neighborhood.

He said his kids are not allowed to leave the yard without supervision because of what happened six years ago.

“If the dude did it to my kid, he’d have never made it to jail,” he said.

Few have shown up for the pre-trial hearings, but the trial itself may be different.

Butler County Sheriff’s Sgt. Carrie Schultheiss, in charge of court security, said they are prepared for whatever may happen at the trial.

“We’re going to show our presence for sure,” she said. “Just so the public or family members don’t get out of hand.”

Share this article