Fayette County officials accused Guatemalan man of kidnapping, abusing 13-year-old

A Guatemalan man living illegally in Iowa under an assumed identity has been accused of kidnapping and sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl.

Police said 23-year-old Rodrigo Sandoval Estrada – who had been living in Ossian as 20-year-old Ramon Marcus Perez – has four more victims in other jurisdictions.

Fayette County Sheriff Marty Fisher said their investigation began Aug. 1 when officials with the Department of Human Services contacted the sheriff's office as part of a sexual abuse inquiry that had originated in Winneshiek County.

“DHS knew about one incident and it led to more,” Fisher said. “It was important to get warrants for this person and get him in custody before he disappears or hurts someone else.”

According to a Fayette county Sheriff's Office news release, investigators launched an investigation on August 1 in Waucoma after learning of several allegations of sexual abuse involving minors. Investigators found several victims in “various jurisdictions,” according to the sheriff's office.

The sheriff's office worked with the Winneshiek County Sheriff's Office and the Ossian/Calmar Police Department to uncover an alleged kidnapping and sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl in June 2013. The investigation led police to Estrada, who now faces charges of first-degree kidnapping, possession of false documents and forgery in Fayette County and will face additional charges in other jurisdictions.

According to court documents, Estrada picked up the girl while she was walking down the street in Waucoma and took her to an apartment. where he sexually abused her, the documents state.

Police found Estrada and 35-year-old Holly Ann Yonkovic, also of Ossian, in a motel in Strawberry Point on Saturday. They were taken into custody without incident, police said. Yonkovic faces one count of felony child endangerment.

Both Estrada and Yonkovic remain in custody in the Fayette County Jail. Estrada – who was identified by Immigration and Customs Enforcement through his fingerprints – has a $500,000 cash bond and faces a life sentence for the kidnapping charge. Yonkovic has a $20,000 bond and faces up to five years in prison.

Details on the Winneshiek County investigation were not immediately available. Fisher said he did not know any details about the victims there.

“My concern was Perez, or Estrada,” Fisher said, noting he's changed his identity before. “That both he and Holly could disappear. We wanted to make sure we took them into custody before they got out of the state. They had word we were looking for them.”

The case remains under investigation.