Man raped girl kidnapped at 7-Eleven in 1992, NM officials say. Now, he pleads guilty
A man grabbed a 10-year-old girl as she was leaving a 7-Eleven and raped her in 1992, New Mexico prosecutors say.
Now, the man, identified by officials as Freddy Valenzuela, pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal sexual penetration in the decades-old case, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office said in a Friday, Dec. 6, Facebook post.
Valenzuela is accused of following the 10-year-old girl as she walked to an Albuquerque 7-Eleven on Oct. 20, 1992, prosecutors said in a November 2023 Facebook post announcing Valenzuela’s arrest.
As she left the store, “Valenzuela grabbed the girl,” prosecutors said.
He then “threatened her with a knife, took her to an isolated area and raped her,” according to prosecutors.
For decades, the case remained cold.
Then, investigators started to clear a “rape kit backlog,” prosecutors said.
And, in 2020, investigators tested the rape kit from the 1992 incident and found it was a match to Valenzuela, prosecutors said.
Though the victim has died, her family still wanted to press charges against Valenzuela, according to prosecutors.
“The rape kit backlog is being cleared,” District Attorney Sam Bregman said in the Facebook post. “Suspects are being held accountable, including in cases that are decades old, and victims and their families are finally getting justice.”
Valenzuela is expected to be sentenced in March and could face up to 18 years in prison, prosecutors said.
This story was originally published December 10, 2024 at 3:19 PM with the headline "Man raped girl kidnapped at 7-Eleven in 1992, NM officials say. Now, he pleads guilty."
