Illegal Immgrant Charged In Kidnapping, Rape Of Girl, 13, From Florida Park

Santo Martinez Varela. Credit: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office 

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida - Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office detectives have arrested Santo Martinez Varela on January 11, 2025, for the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl. 

Martinez Varela, identified through an expedited DNA warrant, was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail without bond. 

Investigators say that Martinez Varela had entered the United States illegally from Honduras in 2023, making his way to West Palm Beach without any prior interaction with immigration or local law enforcement.

"To anyone thinking of committing these kinds of heinous crimes in Palm Beach County: We will find you. Justice will be served," the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office posted on X.