ALCOA, Tenn. – A man wanted on charges of child rape and aggravated sexual battery out of Alcoa was arrested in Lexington, Kentucky, on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
Horacio Mejia-Villegas, who had been evading capture, was the subject of an intense manhunt by the U.S. Marshals Service and local investigators.
After conducting searches at multiple residences throughout Knoxville, Blount County, and Loudon County, authorities tracked Mejia-Villegas to a restaurant in Lexington where he had been working. Upon being located, Mejia-Villegas initially provided officers with a false name in an attempt to avoid identification. However, law enforcement quickly identified him as the wanted fugitive and placed him under arrest.
The U.S. Marshals Service Central Kentucky Fugitive Task Force, along with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), and the Alcoa Police Department, collaborated on the operation that led to the arrest. Mejia-Villegas faces charges of rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery stemming from incidents in Alcoa, Tennessee.
Following his extradition back to Tennessee, he will stand trial for the alleged offenses. If convicted, Mejia-Villegas is expected to serve his sentence before being handed over to ICE for potential deportation.
Authorities emphasized the importance of the combined efforts of local and federal agencies in apprehending individuals who flee across state lines in an effort to avoid prosecution.
