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Forensic data confirms: 12-year-old allegedly killed by illegal immigrants was sexually abused

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Jocelyn Nungaray, the 12-year-old girl allegedly murdered by two illegal immigrants, was sexually assaulted in June before her body was dumped in a north Houston creek, according to new forensic data confirmed to ABC13.

DNA test results from the Houston Forensic Science Center on Monday found that Nungaray was sexually assaulted and then strangled, confirming what prosecutors had suspected since the investigation into her murder began, ABC13 reports. Nungaray’s body was found in a creek last month and local law enforcement has since arrested Venezuelan citizens Franklin Joe Pena Ramos, 26, and Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 22, for her murder. (RELATED TOPIC: Number of terror suspects entering the US illegally increased by over 2,500% under Biden compared to the Trump era)

Immigration officials confirmed that both Pena and Martinez had entered the United States illegally before being arrested for murder. Both men were released into the United States with orders to appear before an immigration judge, even though immigration officials had enough beds to hold them in custody at the time.

“Martinez and Pena both entered the United States illegally on an unknown date and at an unknown location without being examined, paroled, or admitted by a U.S. immigration officer,” an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation last month.

“On March 14, Martinez was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol near El Paso, Texas,” the statement continued. “Pena was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol near El Paso on May 28.”

Investigators believe Nungaray sneaked out of her house late at night on June 16, for reasons prosecutors say are still unclear. The two men then allegedly lured Nungaray under a bridge, where they tied her up, pulled down her pants and strangled her to death.

According to ABC13, a passerby found her body floating in a creek in north Houston in the early hours of June 17.

Bail for both men is $10 million. They currently have immigration warrants out for their arrest, meaning they would remain in police custody even if they posted bail, ICE confirmed to DCNF.

According to ABC13, both men are not eligible for the death penalty under Texas law, but Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg had previously stated that if sexual abuse was found, her office could consider the death penalty and not ask for bail.

“We will not comment on the evidence in this case until the appropriate time,” the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement in response to DCNF’s question about the test results and whether its prosecutors would now seek the death penalty.

The Houston Forensic Science Center referred all media inquiries to local police.

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