HOUSTON – A 28-year-old Houston man was arrested and is facing charges of sexual assault and aggravated robbery after authorities said he brutally raped a 77-year-old woman at an assisted living facility in west Harris County last year.
Bryan Arellano Monasterio was charged Monday in connection with the Oct. 1, 2018 attack. He was arrested and was due in court Wednesday.
He's facing life in prison.
What happened
In October last year, authorities said Monasterio entered the complex in the 13800 block of Canyon Hill Drive through an unlocked door.
Authorities said Monasterio was wearing sunglasses to conceal his identity.
Once Monasterio made his way inside the complex, authorities said he forced open a secured door to access the residential units.
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Monasterio covered the peephole on the victim's door and pretended to be a maintenance man in order to get her to open the door, according to investigators.
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Once inside, investigators said, Monasterio dragged the woman to a bedroom and sexually assaulted her. After the assault, authorities said, he demanded money and threatened to kill her if she called the police.
"Somebody knocked on the door and told her (the victim) he was the maintenance man, so as she cracked the door, he pushed the door open ... burglarizing her house, dragged her to the bedroom and sexually assaulted her very brutally," said Cyndy Routh, lead investigator of HCSO Special victims unit. "You aren't supposed to be emotionally invested but this one, in particular, is very emotional because we think of grandmothers and mothers as being sacred people in our lives."
Monasterio then ran out of the building, authorities said.
What the victim's family said
"She has faith in God. She has faith in our family," said Jaling Bonnem, the victim's daughter. “No one deserves this, especially an elderly, 77-year-old woman, who minds her own business, who’s just a great person, a great mother.”
Bonnem said her mother returned to her home after the attack.
“She’s going to overcome this. She refuses to be afraid. She refuses to give in to fear,” Bonnem said.
Facing life in prison
"He (Monasterio) had never had sex with an Asian woman before and that was apparently some sick fantasy that he had," said Carvana Cloud, Harris County District Attorney's Office chief of special victims bureau. "When that happens, we update the charges and so he is now facing up to life imprisonment. Had it been different, the punishment range would be a lot lower."