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SIERRA VISTA — Roque Mora was booked at the Sierra Vista Police station and transferred to the county jail Thursday after being extradited from Mexico, where he was hiding.
Mora, 55, was charged with sexual assault and sexual misconduct with a minor in 2006.
Since April, a Cochise County grand jury indictment charged him with molestation of a child and sexual assault.
The extradition process took 17 months, said Officer Tracy Grady of the Sierra Vista Police Department.
 Roque Mora is escorted to the Sierra Vista police station for booking on Thursday. Mora, 55, was indicted on child sexual assault charges by a county grand jury. (Mark Levy-Herald/Review) |
The Sierra Vista Police Department, the FBI, the Mexican federal police, the Cochise County Attorney’s Office, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona and the U.S. Department of Justice all cooperated to bring Mora back to Sierra Vista. The investigation began in 2006 when there were allegations that Mora had sexually abused two relatives. One relative gave birth to a son as a result. The child’s DNA is evidence in the investigation.
During the investigation, Mora fled the United States and lived with family in Agua Prieta, Mexico.
After Mora’s indictment on state charges, FBI agents in Sierra Vista began a fugitive investigation for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, which is a federal law that permits the FBI to assist local and state authorities in capturing fugitives who have fled to other states or nations.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tucson filed a federal complaint against Mora for unlawful flight, and a judge issued a warrant for his arrest. The Cochise County Attorney’s Office, Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice worked together and obtained a provisional arrest warrant in Mexico.
The warrant issued by the Mexican authorities directed their law enforcement to arrest Mora and bring him before a Mexican court. FBI border liaison agents along with the Mexican law enforcement agents worked to have him arrested.
Mora was arrested April 9 at the Plaza Hotel in Agua Prieta, where he worked as a security guard. He was transported to Hermosillo, Sonora, and then flown to Mexico City. There, he remained in custody while awaiting the extradition hearing.
The 2006 charges were for the relative who gave birth.
The 2008 charges were for the other relative. Mora was taken by FBI agents from Mexico City to Houston and then flown to Tucson Thursday. He was driven to Sierra Vista were he was taken into custody by police.
He is scheduled for his initial appearance today. Carol Capas, spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, said Mora was a previously-registered sex offender for unrelated charges.
Herald/Review reporter Julie Ann Marra can be reached at 515-4680 or by e-mail at julieann.marra@svherald.com.
