Published: November 05, 2009 05:34 pm      

Man cleared of charges on DNA evidence

A man once thought to have raped and impregnated an 11-year-old girl was cleared of the charges by the lack of DNA evidence linking him to the rape, authorities said, but he has been picked up from the Whitfield County jail by Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE) officials.

Jesus Ernesto Grijalva, 36, of Cuauhtemoc in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico, was charged in June by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office with statutory rape, aggravated child molestation and rape. He was extradited from Uvalde, Texas.

Grijalva was staying with a Dalton family in May but disappeared. Later, the girl was found to be pregnant and authorities believed a sexual assault led to his sudden departure.

“We dismissed our case against him,” said District Attorney Kermit McManus.

Public defender Anna Johnson defended Grijalva, and said if not for the lack of DNA evidence the case “could have gone the other way.”

“It didn’t come back as his (DNA),” she said. “But he is an illegal, and was actually arrested coming back across the border into the U.S. He may have been deported.”

A county jail spokesman said Grijalva was picked up by ICE officials in mid-September after being placed on an “ICE hold” following his arrest.