and accused of sex trafficking and child
abuse after a 3-year-old girl was found in his
apartment bound in duct tape.
During a media briefing Tuesday morning, Chief
John Meza said the girl was the apparent victim
of sex trafficking on behalf of the
suspect, Fransisco Javier Rios-Covarrubias, 30.
Police say the child was reported to police by a
man who'd met Rios-Covarrubias online and
arranged to have sex with him. The
man claimed Rios-Covarrubias asked him if he
wanted to have sex with the child.
"This is one of those cases that just shocks the
soul," Meza said.
According to a police report, the man who
contacted authorities told them he went to Rios-
Covarrubias' apartment in the early morning
hours Monday. The man said Rios-Covarrubias,
who was dressed in a pink dress and a blond wig,
performed oral sex on him before Rios-
Covarrubias gave the man some
methamphetamine, which he smoked, the report
stated.
However, later when the witness was in the front
living room, he smelled a bad odor and when he
turned around, Rios-Covarrubias had the 3-year-
old girl next to him with her hands secured with
duct tape and duct tape over her mouth, he told
police.
According to the police report, Rios-Covarrubias
asked the man if he wanted to have sex with the
girl. The man told authorities that he asked Rios-
Covarrubias if he had kidnapped her, and he said
no.
The report states that the man yelled at Rios-
Covarrubias about how dirty the girl was and he
left the apartment. Later, he received a text
message from Rios-Covarrubias who said the
child was gone and he could come back and
have sex, the man said.
When the man returned he did not see the girl
and he had sex with Rios-Covarrubias, according
to the report. However, after having sex, the
man felt compelled to call authorities about what
he had seen, the police report states.
When officers entered the apartment, they found
the child in a front closet. She was in a black
trash bag with only the top of her head exposed,
the police report reads. She had duct tape
around her mouth, hands, arms and legs,
authorities said. Meza said her condition was
described as extremely neglected, saying she
was wearing only a diaper and a t-shirt and was
"covered in feces."
"The child was forensically examined and
many bruises, scratches and blisters were
observed on her body," Meza said. "The
level of neglect was so harsh, she couldn't
stand on her own."
According to the police report, at the hospital, a
forensic interview was attempted with the
girl but she was nonverbal. "It is unknown at this
time if she is unable to speak or will not speak
due to the emotional and physical trauma she
has sustained," the report states.
Rios-Covarrubias identified the girl as the
daughter of a friend who is homeless, police said.
Officers found the mother, Mayra Yomali Solis,
who admitted to leaving the child with Rios-
Covarrubias for an extended period, seeing her
only about one day a week, according to Meza.
The girl was kept in a closet and left alone for
long periods of time, Meza said. Rios-Covarrubias
told police that he had placed duct tape on the
girl's mouth to keep her quiet while he had sex
with the witness. He also said that he left her
unattended in his apartment when he was at
work and he turned up the volume on his
television so no one would hear her. Additionally,
he said that he had not changed the girl's diaper
in three days because he didn't have any others.
Reaction at the La Mesa Village apartments was
shock and disgust at the horrific details. Several
residents said they saw heavy police activity in
the complex, with officers going door-to-door
asking questions in an effort to gain more details
and identify the child's mother.
"It's unbelievable, it's sick," resident Kyle
Serrano said. "I can't believe something like that
was going on two doors down from me."
Other neighbors described the complex as a
friendly place, which made the news that much
more shocking. Neighbors who live below and
directly next door from the suspect both said
they never heard anything and rarely saw Rios-
Covarrubias.
The mother also admitted to police that she
shaved the girl's head and told people she had
cancer in order to get money.
The child is in the custody of the Arizona
Department of Child Safety while at the hospital;
her condition was described as fair.
The charges facing Rios-Covarrubias include sex
trafficking, kidnapping, sex conduct with a minor
and child abuse. Solis is facing child-abuse
charges.
Meza said officers also found a small amount of
methamphetamine in the apartment.
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