Pocatello man accused of raping 15-year-old girl
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CHUBBUCK — A man has been charged with multiple felonies after he had sex with a girl police believe he knew to be underage.
Said Carrasco, 19, has been charged with lewd conduct with a minor and statutory rape, court records show.
Chubbuck police were contacted Sunday by a woman who said her daughter had been sexually assaulted Friday, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The woman said that her daughter, 15, did not know that man’s name but knew his brother and knew him to be 19 years old.
She said that the girl was watching a movie with the man when he forced himself onto her.
An officer went to the victim’s home to speak with her.
The girl said that the two had been conversing via Snapchat and met up at his home.
The victim told the officer that the two were watching a movie in what she believed to be the man’s bedroom when the man began to kiss her. She said she did not want to kiss him but that he kept kissing her. Then, she said, she felt his hand on her thigh. She pushed his hand away, but he allegedly forced himself on top of her and proceeded to assault her.
Asked how she knew the man, the victim said she met him over Snapchat but that she knew his brother and that the two had a common friend.
The officer scheduled a sexual assault exam for the victim.
The victim’s mother informed the officer that she had been in contact with another girl who claimed to have received nude photos from the same man. With the information provided by the victim’s mother, officers identified Carrasco as the suspect.
Officers detained Carrasco for questioning at his home.
Speaking in Spanish, Carrasco allegedly asked his brother to take his phone. But the officer said the phone was being seized as evidence.
During an interview at the Chubbuck Police Department, officers noted that Carrasco was seemingly not being truthful, as answers were only “semi-matching up.”
After several attempts, Carrasco “finally came clean” about an “intimate session” he’d had with the victim, according to the affidavit. Carrasco claimed it was consensual and that the two “kissed and cuddled.”
Because Carrasco and the victim had discussed school, officers asked if it was fair that Carrasco assume the victim had been underage. He agreed.
During a break from the interview with Carrasco, the officer contacted the victim, who said that she had informed Carrasco of her age over Snapchat and had never told him she was of legal age.
Officers asked to search Carrasco’s phone, but he said he was not “comfortable” with that. They then asked him to write down his passcode so they could search it after obtaining a warrant, but Carrasco requested a lawyer and ended the interview.
He was transported to Bannock County Jail, where he is being held on a $50,000 bond.
Though Carrasco has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If he is found guilty, Carrasco could face up to life in prison.
He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing before Magistrate Judge Aaron Thompson on Wednesday.