Suspect In CT Sexual Assault Cold Case Caught In Puerto Rico

NEW HAVEN, CT — U.S. Marshals arrested a man in Puerto Rico Wednesday in connection with a 33-year-old sexual assault case in Connecticut, according to a statement from U.S. Marshals. Hermes Rivera, 67, was charged with second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.

Rivera is the suspect in the sexual assault of a 9-year-old family member in the summer of 1988 in Connecticut.

When the victim’s mother learned of the abuse, she contacted police in Connecticut to report the crime. State and federal authorities in Connecticut have been trying to locate and capture Rivera who fled the state, according to the statement.

Connecticut State Police asked for the help of the Connecticut-based U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force in 2020 to catch Rivera. The U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force in Connecticut and Puerto Rico tracked him to a semi-remote area of Puerto Rico.

U.S. Marshals learned Rivera obtained a Puerto Rico driver license under his brother’s name, Noel Rivera, and had been living under his brother’s identity for some time in Puerto Rico.

Rivera will be held in Puerto Rico charged as a fugitive from justice pending extradition to Connecticut.

The victim, who wanted to be quoted after learning of the arrest, said in the statement: "Thank you for putting closure to this 33-year-old case. I was hoping to someday have closure to this horrific chapter in my life, and I was hoping he would not die before being arrested."