NOGALES (AZ)
Nogales International
March 13. 2018
By Arielle Zionts
Local authorities are searching for a Rio Rico man accused of child molestation who appears to have fled the area.
Mario Montano, 60, is accused of one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child that allegedly occurred between August 2010 through August 2011. He is also accused of two counts of furnishing harmful items to minors – child and adult pornography – between August 2010 and Sept. 15, 2010.
The felony charges were filed at Nogales Justice Court on Feb. 27, a day before a warrant was taken out for Montano’s arrest.
“The investigation in this matter is still ongoing and law enforcement is working diligently to take Montano into custody,” said County Attorney George Silva.
Silva confirmed that Montano’s whereabouts are unknown, but he would not say where officials suspect he is living or fled to. He said anyone with information on where Montano is should contact law enforcement.
He and a spokesman for the Nogales Police Department said they could not share any other details about the case.
The charges against Monano and his fugitive status came to public light after a family member of the alleged victim sent an email to the NI and a number of other news outlets on March 5 labeled as “breaking news” and containing news release-style accounts in English and Spanish. Some Mexican media immediately published information from the email and a version of it is also circulating on Facebook.
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