Man who served as emergency contact at school for children accused of raping a minor
A man who helped several families register for school in Horry County and served as an emergency contact for multiple students is accused of raping an 8-year-old girl.
A second person was also arrested and suspected of sexually assaulting the same girl.
Horry County police charged Miguel Almanza Solorio, 42, with first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and failure to appear. The department also arrested and charged Jose Antonio Sandoval, 49, with first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Both men were booked into J. Reuben Long Detention Center in South Carolina on Wednesday. Bond has not been set in either case.
Each suspect could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.
Police started their investigation on Tuesday, when an Horry County police officer went to a Little River area elementary school. An anonymous parent said Solorio molested several girls and a school counselor spoke to one of the alleged victims, according to a police report.
Solorio is bilingual and served as an emergency contact for several children because their parents only spoke Spanish, according to the report. He also helped several Spanish-speaking families register for school.
Solorio serves as the landlord for some of the families and provides transportation, the report states.
“[Solorio] has positioned himself so that the families are very dependent on him and he has been authorized to get the kids from school,” the officer wrote in the report.
Last month, the school called Solorio because the girl had lice, according to the report. The girl said Solorio took her back to his house, where both Solorio and Sandoval assaulted her.
The victim was upset when Solorio dropped her off at home and her father asked about her condition, the report states. The victim initially said only Solorio touched her.
After the victim told her father, there were no additional assaults, according to the reports.
The victim told the school counselor she was assaulted by both men on multiple occasions and Solorio bought her clothes and gifts to keep her quiet. He also made threats to have the families deported.
This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 12:04 PM.
