Fugitive who allegedly sexually assaulted juvenile caught in Texas

Jose H. Aponte | Lake County Sheriff's Office

A Park City man who went on the run after a warrant was issued for his arrest last month for sexually abusing a juvenile was taken into custody Thursday in Texas.

Jose H. Aponte, 38, was wanted on a felony warrant issued April 11 for a single count of predatory criminal sexual assault  and four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The warrant was issued after Park City police started investigating a claim that Aponte had engaged in sexual conduct with a juvenile.

Deputies and members of the Great Lakes Regional Task Force learned Aponte likely fled to Texas when they tried to find him on April 16, the sheriff’s office said.

On Thursday, a member of the US Marshals Service – Lone Star Fugitive Task Force saw Aponte leaving a store in Killeen, Texas, the sheriff’s office said. Officers then took him into custody while he was walking to his vehicle.

Aponte is being held by the Bell County Sheriff’s Office in Texas pending an extradition hearing, the sheriff’s office said.