Fugitive in Turlock sex crime case apprehended

A wanted fugitive suspected of sexually assaulting a Turlock teenager he met through Instagram was apprehended after almost a year on the run while trying to enter the United States from Mexico.

Eladio Ramirez Tizoc, 23, of Modesto is suspected of hiding in Mexico since he failed to appear at his Jan.3 arraignment in Stanislaus County. He’d bailed out of jail on nine felony sexual offenses that include unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, sodomy with a minor, lewd and lascivious acts with a child younger than 14, and penetration with a foreign object.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement became involved in the Turlock case several weeks after the missed arraignment, adding Tizoc to the Operation Predator app, which lists fugitives suspected of committing sex crimes in the United States.

Federal authorities said Tizoc met the Turlock girl online when she was 13 years old, following and commenting on her Instagram postings. Instagram is a photo- and video-sharing social media service. Eventually, Tizoc arranged to meet her.

Turlock police investigators said Tizoc had as many as four encounters with the girl in four weeks. After a week and a half of investigation, police arrested him at his home.

Tizoc was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents, and Turlock police took custody of him Monday.

This story was originally published November 4, 2014 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Fugitive in Turlock sex crime case apprehended."