Defense Attorney, Interpreter Charged With Intimidating Rape Victim: Report

BALTIMORE, MD — A Baltimore lawyer was reportedly arrested for witness intimidation and obstruction of justice after insinuating to a Spanish-speaking rape victim and her husband that if she testified against his client — the rape suspect — she would likely be deported.

Attorney Christos Vasiliades allegedly met with the couple on April 11 and May 18, and an indictment was handed down on Tuesday, according to Fox 45, which reported the victim and her husband recorded the second meeting with assistance from law enforcement.

See the 12-count indictment on Fox 45.

Vasiliades offered to pay the woman $3,000 not to testify and encouraged her husband to assault his client after the trial, according to The Baltimore Sun, which said the proceedings have since been postponed for Mario Aguilar-Delosantos, charged with second-degree rape and second-degree assault as well as third and fourth-degree sex offenses. His case is slated to go to trial Aug. 24, court records show.

An interpreter attending the May meeting with Vasiliades told the couple that officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be in the courtroom and require documentation of their citizenship status, according to The Baltimore Sun; interpreter Edgar Ivan Rodriguez was also charged with intimidation and obstruction.