Modesto man arrested on charges of kidnapping, rape and attempted murder of teen
A Modesto man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of the sexual assault and attempted murder of a teenage girl, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said.
Detectives believe 35-year-old Jermaine Rufus Beard kidnapped a teen, threatened her with violence and raped her late the night of Oct. 23 at a trailer park in the 600 block of River Road in Modesto.
The girl eventually was able to escape and contact authorities, the Sheriff’s Office said. Her injuries were “severe enough” to require brief hospitalization, although the office didn’t specify for how long, before she was released into the custody of Child Protective Services.
CPS brought the incident to the attention of the Sheriff’s Office a few days after the assault; it was not immediately clear what other agencies may have known about the incident prior to this notification.
Detectives with the Family Crimes Unit identified Beard as a suspect. SWAT team members arrested Beard in the 4500 block of Madeline Way without incident.
Beard faces charges including attempted murder, rape, abduction and carnal abuse of a child by force or violence. He was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center, with bail set at $1 million.
The Sheriff’s Office said Beard was out on probation in Merced County after an offense following a prior auto theft conviction. The Modesto Bee reported Beard also was arrested in 2018 on allegations he rear-ended and then fired a gun at a car occupied by his child’s mother and her boyfriend.
Authorities ask anyone with information related to the ongoing case to call Detective Cooper at 209-857-0132 or Probation Officer Victor Bugarin at 209-353-5525 for Spanish.
Crime Stoppers will accept anonymous tips at 209-521-4636, at stancrimetips.org or by using the P3 mobile app.
This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 5:34 PM.
