LC man accused of raping 14-year-old hitchhiker who ran away from Phoenix home

Police arrested a Las Cruces man suspected of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old hitchhiker he picked up in Arizona.

38-year-old Ignacio Salcido, of the 5000 block of Emerald Street, is charged with one count of criminal sexual penetration of a child. The charge is a second-degree felony count.

Detectives learned that on Monday Salcido was traveling from San Diego, California back to Las Cruces with his 10-year-old son and a 23-year-old woman he met at a mall in San Diego.

During his trip back to Las Cruces, Salcido met a 14-year-old girl hitchhiking. Salcido offered to give the girl a ride and she accepted, police said. The girl reportedly ran away from her home in Phoenix, police added.

Detectives believe Salcido initially drove his three passengers through Las Cruces and to Juarez, Mexico, late Monday evening or early Tuesday morning. Salcido then drove back to his home in Las Cruces where they all went to sleep during the early-morning hours of Tuesday, police said.

Sometime Tuesday morning, the 14-year-old girl awoke on the sofa to Salcido sexually assaulting her, police said.

Salcido was detained for questioning Tuesday and subsequently charged with the crime. He was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center where he was being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond.