He Smuggled In A 13-Year Old From Guatemala & Used Her For Sex For 6 Years: AG

PROVIDENCE, RI — A 40-year-old Providence man smuggled a 13-year-old girl from Guatemala to the U.S. and used her for sex. He was found guilty of two counts of first degree child molestation after a two week long trial in Superior Court, Atty. Gen. Peter F. Kilmartin said Wednesday. Edilsar Alvarado, 40, is to be sentenced July 25.

According to court papers, Alvarado met the girl when he took a trip to Guatemala. She was 11. He was visiting her family. "In 2008, the victim was smuggled into the United States through Mexico, arranged and paid for by the defendant," Kilmartin's office said. "The journey to the United States took approximately a month with the victim traveling at night and by foot with the help of a “coyote,” a person who brings individuals across the United States border for a fee.

The girl was 13 at the time.

"The victim disclosed that the first attempt to cross the border failed and she was captured at the United States/Mexico border," Kilmartin's office continued, "but that the defendant paid more money in a second attempt to bring her to the United States.

"She was eventually brought to Rhode Island where was forced to have a sexual relationship with the defendant. She became pregnant by the defendant when she was 14 years of age. The victim further disclosed that the defendant enrolled her in Providence public schools pretending to be her cousin."

State police found out about the situation in May 2015. After a July 2014 child custody case in Family Court, Alvarado disclosed their sexual relationship and an attorney for the victim later notified the Rhode Island State Police.

During that custody hearing, he admitted under oath that he'd had sex with her from the time she arrived in the U.S. until she left his house about six years later.