Accuser’s mother: Daughter had previously seen rape suspect hanging around Parkland Middle

The mother of a 12-year-old girl allegedly raped at Parkland Middle School told ABC-7 her daughter had previously seen the alleged rapist hanging around the campus.

The mother, who ABC-7 is not identifying in order to protect the victim’s identity, said she went to pick up her daughter after practice, but could not find her. It was late, and no one knew where the girl was. When the girl eventually walked out of the locker room area, her mother instantly knew something was wrong. The girl wouldn’t talk and took an hour-long bath that night, her mother said.

It was only after the parents took the girl to a doctor, did they learn their daughter had been the victim of a sexual assault. The mother said her daughter felt shamed. “I should have told you, but I was embarrassed and didn’t know if you would be upset because I didn’t fight harder,” the girl reportedly told her mother.

El Paso Police Spokesman Sergeant Enrique Carrillo confirmed there is an open investigation regarding a rape at Parkland Middle School in Northeast El Paso. Police originally said it was a “possible rape.”

The girl told her mother she had seen her alleged rapist hanging around the fence at the school in the mornings. According to the mother, her daughter described the suspect as a “chubby” Hispanic man with short black hair in a fade. The daughter said the man was not too tall and had a tattoo on his belly of what appeared to be an “eye with a spider in it.”

The alleged rapist reportedly dropped a black cell phone during the incident and it rang, the mother said. Her daughter described hearing a T-Mobile ringtone.

In a statement sent to ABC-7, Sergeant R. Calderon, with the Crimes Against Children Unit, declined to confirm the unit is investigating a rape. “The Crimes Against Children Unit has received a police report about an alleged incident that occurred at Parkland Middle School. The case has been assigned to an investigator. No details can be provided at this time as this is an ongoing investigation.”

Chris Lechuga, a spokesperson with the Ysleta Independent School District, told ABC-7 “It’s a police investigation. We are unable to comment.”

When asked to respond to the mothers allegations that the principal of Parkland Middle School “brushed us off, and acted like we were lying,” Lechuga said, “We are working to get details and we don’t have the facts yet.”

The mother told ABC-7 her daughter said she was raped in the stall of the girl’s locker room after practice. The girl was reportedly showering when she saw a man standing inside the locker room looking at her. “He was staring at me so creepy,” the daughter reportedly told her mother. “She wanted to run, but was so scared her feet wouldn’t move,” the mother said.

The girl said she heard people outside the locker room and hoped someone would walk into the locker room as she was being raped. Speaking Spanish, the man reportedly told the girl to “shut up” as he allegedly covered her mouth with his hand. The girl told her mother that once the man was done, he crawled out from underneath the stall door and left her inside.

The mother said she immediately went to the principal, who was “almost robotic.” The mother also said the principal was defensive saying, ‘this could not have happened at my school. It’s nearly impossible.'”

After meeting the the principal, the girl’s mother said she called El Paso Police eight times and it took them three to four days to respond to her call. She was allegedly told the detective assigned to the case had training for a week and would be in contact with her.

Concerned parents who have children enrolled at Parkland Middle School told ABC-7 they feel parents and children should be aware of the allegations.

A woman, who asked to remain anonymous, told ABC-7 she is concerned with the way the investigation is being handled by both the Ysleta ISD and the El Paso Police Department. “If there is a threat out there, we should be made aware so we can take extra precautions with the safety of our children,” the woman said.