MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas – Women in the online dating community are being warned after the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man accused of preying on mothers with the goal of sexually assaulting their children.
Investigators said the suspect, who used the alias of “Harley” for his profile, would target mothers through dating apps and ask to spend time with them and their children.
Epifanio Adolfo Jimenez, 42, a married man, was taken into custody on March 15 and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to the sheriff’s office.
In that case, Jimenez is accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl but investigators he did not meet the mother through a dating app.
“It wasn’t an actual relationship that happened there. There was some familiarity between the victim and suspect,” said Lt. Scott Spencer.
According to court documents, the girl, who is now 17 years old, made an outcry to her high school counselor, reporting that she had been raped by Jimenez in 2017. The girl told the counselor that she needed to get what happened to her “off her chest.”
She then began to describe the night Jimenez allegedly assaulted her.
The girl said Jimenez came home late from work, armed with a six-pack of beer, and he was drunk. She said he entered her room, began yelling at her that she did not “appreciate what he does for her”, pushed her onto the bed, and raped her. He stopped when he heard someone walking down the hall, documents state.
The victim said, for years, she was afraid to tell anyone about the attack.
Investigators spoke to Jimenez on March 9 about the claims.
According to documents, Jimenez acknowledged that he would either come home with a 6-pack of beer, or his girlfriend would already have one at the house for him. Investigators noted that, during their entire conversation, Jimenez’s demeanor was vague. They said he corroborated the girl’s entire story, but denied the actual act of sexually assaulting her.
When asked by investigators why she would make the story up, Jimenez allegedly said it was because he has not been in her life.
Investigators determined there was enough probable cause to move forward with filing charges.
During a news conference on Tuesday, Spencer said Jimenez said it was also during that investigation they determined he may be using dating apps to target children and their mothers.
Investigators also discovered that Jimenez was out on probation.
“Detectives also found out that Mr. Jimenez was on probation out of Galveston County for online solicitation of a minor,” Spencer said.
Investigators believe there may be more victims and urge anyone who may have met with him or allowed him contact with their children to call the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office at 936-760-5800, and reference case# 22A067965.