Illegal Immigrant, Farm Worker Admits Raping Girl, 13, in North Jersey

A farmhand working in Sparta admitted his role in the sexual assault of a teenage girl in 2014 and faces up to three years in prison plus the possibility of deportation.

According to njherald.com, Adrian Bautista, 25, pleaded guilty Monday in Superior Court in Newton to the June 2014 crime of second degree sexual assault. In doing so, the report said, a charge of endangering the welfare of a child was dropped.

Original police reports from the incident by Sparta Township police said Bautista was working on the farm near the Lafayette Township border when he encountered the girl in a barn about 4 p.m. on a Monday.

The man engaged in sexual activity with the girl, then 13, and left about 15 minutes later, police said. The girl alerted an adult family member about what happened and Bautista fled the scene when he realized police had been notified.

Bautista surrendered a short time later when multiple police departments and a K-9 unit tracked him down less than two miles away.

Bautista was living in the country illegally at the time of the incident, the report said. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18 and Bautista faces up to three years in prison. He must serve a minimum of 80-percent of the sentence and faces deportation once he is released.

Photo Courtesy Sparta Township Police Department