Suspected Serial Rapist Identified After Extradition To Tuscaloosa

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A man from Mexico has been extradited and will face charges in Tuscaloosa after being suspected in a series of sexual assaults dating back more than a decade.

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Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit Commander Captain Jack Kennedy told local media Tuesday that between July 2008 and March 2009, an unknown subject committed a series of sexual assaults against University of Alabama students living in an apartment complex on Reed Street near University Boulevard.

Alexander Valazquez-Hernandez, 24 years old at the time of the assaults, was eventually identified as a suspect after a DNA sample from one of the crime scenes was found to be a match.

Kennedy went on to say that efforts to locate Velazquez-Hernandez were initially unsuccessful after he was identified as a suspect and it was believed that he may have fled the United States to return to his home in Mexico.

Kennedy then said warrants for his arrest were obtained in June 2009, charging him with two counts of first degree burglary, first degree rape, first degree sodomy, first degree sexual abuse, and attempted burglary.

"In early 2022, new information was received as to Velazquez- Hernandez’s location," he said. "Once again, all the parties involved moved quickly to locate and detain this individual. With the cooperation and efforts of the Mexican Federal Police, Alexander Velazquez-Hernandez was located and detained in Mexico. Legal proceedings were held to verify his identity and grant his extradition to the United States."

Kennedy said Velazquez-Hernandez was turned over Tuesday morning to the custody of the US Marshals and transported to Tuscaloosa County. Velazquez-Hernandez is being held without bond due to being a flight risk.

In looking back at the assaults, Kennedy explained that the first incident was reported in July 2008 after a suspect, posing as an apartment maintenance worker, was able to enter the victim’s apartment.

"After the suspect confirmed the victim was alone in the apartment, he sexually assaulted her," he said. "The victim was able to describe her attacker as a Hispanic male ... Despite extensive investigation, law enforcement was unable to identify the suspect."

Then, in February 2009, Kennedy said two more sexual assaults occurred in the same apartment complex. In one instance on the morning of Feb. 24, 2009, a suspect attempted to gain entry into an apartment pretending to be a maintenance worker, but was refused entry by the occupant.

"Later that day, the suspect was able to enter a different victim’s apartment," Kennedy said. "Once inside the apartment, the suspect sexually assaulted the sole female occupant. All victims gave similar descriptions of the suspect attacker."

Kennedy said two veteran law enforcement officers from Tuscaloosa County who worked on the initial investigations that successfully identified Velazquez-Hernandez were on hand to take him into custody from the US Marshals on Tuesday and formally committed him to jail.

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