'Black Magic' Rape Suspect Arrested
Police in Texas arrested a man who allegedly lured a teenage girl into his home under the pretense he knew black magic and then sexually assaulted her.
Mario Munoz-Verudes, 60, was booked into the Harris County Jail on Saturday on rape charges.
The alleged sexual assault happened on Sept. 23. Investigators said Munoz-Verdures invited a 17-year-old church member into his home, claiming he could rid her of bad spirits.
"[He] proclaimed himself to be a religious man, attended church regularly, supposedly, and was able to do some witchcraft or some spells," Detective Ron McGullion with the Tomball Police Department told ABC News' Houston station KTRK-TV.
He then allegedly raped the teen and "threatened to put a curse on her if she told anyone," according to court records obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
Police caught up with the suspect, who had been missing, on Saturday, after he allegedly got into an altercation with the victim's father.
Munoz-Verudes is being held on $60,000 bail