Extradited man pleads guilty to rape
A man extradited from Mexico on charges he raped a child pleaded guilty Tuesday in Marion County Circuit Court.
Raul Xalamihua-Espindola, 29, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree rape before Judge David Leith. One count of first-degree rape and first-degree custodial interference will be dismissed as part of the plea bargain.
Xalamihua-Espindola's case goes back to 2007 when the then-19-year-old was accused of taking an 11-year-old girl, whom he called his "girlfriend," to Mexico.
The investigation began on April 6, 2007, when the Keizer Police Department received a report that an 11-year-old girl left a note for her parents saying she ran away with her boyfriend, identified by police as Xalamihua-Espindola...
Xalamihua-Espindola eluded capture until about two years ago.
On Dec. 15, 2015, Xalamihua-Espindola was extradited and taken to the Marion County jail.
During Xalamihua-Espindola's plea hearing, language and cultural barriers were evident. Every word was translated through two translators from English to Spanish to Nahuatl, a language spoken in Central Mexico.
When asked how old he was when the crimes occurred, Xalamihua-Espindola said he didn't remember because he doesn't know if his parents put down his date of birth correctly on his documents...
When Leith asked Xalamihua-Espindola how he pleaded, Xalamihua-Espindola kept answering "yes."
Leith told him that wasn't an answer and he needed to say guilty or not guilty.
"Yes, I am guilty, "Xalamihua-Espindola said.
Xalamihua-Espindola is scheduled to appear in court for sentencing at 9 a.m. June 6.
Raul Xalamihua-Espindola changes his plea to guilty on three counts of first-degree rape of an 11-year-old Keizer girl in 2007. Photographed at the Marion County Courthouse in Salem on Tuesday, May 3, 2016. (Photo: ANNA REED / Statesman Journal)
