- Iris Iliana Rodriguez, 34, was arrested on December 11 in Jalisco, Mexico after being on the run since 2015
- Rodriguez was reportedly arrested for inappropriate relations with an 11-year-old girl in Laredo, Texas before fleeing
- She was placed on Texas’ Top 10 Most Wanted list and was found after someone tipped her off to Crime Stoppers
A female aid worker who “had sex with an 11-year-old girl in her care” in Texas was captured in Mexico after nearly a decade on the run.
Authorities announced Friday that Iris Iliana Rodriguez, 34, was arrested on December 11 in Jalisco, Mexico by members of the International Criminal Police Organization after being tipped off to Crime Stoppers.
Rodriguez had been on the run since January 2015 after it was discovered she had an inappropriate relationship with a female minor in Laredo, Texas, about 150 miles from San Antonio.
At the time, Webb County issued warrants for her arrest, including three counts of indecency with a child and three counts of unlawful restraint and intimidation. She has since been hit with two additional charges of indecency with a child by sexual contact and fleeing to avoid prosecution.
Before she could be arrested nearly a decade ago, she fled to Mexico and was placed on Texas’ Top 10 Most Wanted list.
Iris Iliana Rodriguez, 34, was arrested on December 11 in Jalisco, Mexico after fleeing the US in January 2015 after it was discovered she was having an inappropriate relationship with a female minor in Laredo, Texas
After the incident, Rodriguez fled south of the border and was discovered after almost a decade in Jalisco, Mexico.
Authorities say the tipster received a $5,000 reward for reporting Rodriguez’s whereabouts.
“The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), along with DPS Criminal Investigations Special Agents from Laredo, coordinated efforts with the USMS Country Attaché in Mexico to develop a plan to execute the arrest with the assistance of INTERPOL Mexico,” it said Texas Department of Public Safety. in a Facebook post on Friday.
Rodriquez’s inappropriate interactions with the 11-year-old girl allegedly occurred while she was working as a counselor for the Child, Adolescent and Parent Services program in Laredo.
The program is designed to “provide comprehensive services to adolescents ages 3 through 17 years with a diagnosis of a mental illness, who may present with an emotional, behavioral, or mental disorder with severe functional impairment,” according to the program’s website program.
She then moved on to a new job at Border Region Behavioral Health Center, which is also located in Laredo.
Her new job “allowed her to visit the little girl at school under the guise of guidance and advice,” she said WOAI TV.
It is unclear how long she will serve in prison and whether she will face trial for her crimes. It is also unclear where exactly she was discovered in Jalisco.