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UPDATE: Missing Youth Found with Captor in San Jose

A man, 23, was arrested May 1 at a VTA station under suspicion of unlawful intercourse with a minor and false imprisonment.

Updated at 4:41 p.m., Friday. 

A young woman who has been listed as a missing person since March was found with her captor at a Valley Transportation Authority station in San Jose Tuesday, according to a press release sent out by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office.

Sgt. Jose Cardoza of the Sheriff's Office said that the youth is a 16-year-old female reported missing out of San Jose. While he would not release her name, he said she is caucasian, 5'9" and 130 pounds.

According to officer Jose Garcia of the San Jose Police Department, the youth has been reported missing with his agency since March, though he could not specify dates because investigators have not had time to go through all of the necessary records yet.

Cardoza said that the youth had been living with the suspect for a "few months" against her will.

According to the release, members of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Transit Patrol arrested Merced Pacheco, 23, of Santa Clara at the Orchard Light Rail Station for suspicion of unlawful intercourse with a minor and false imprisonment.

While checking proof of payment on a light rail train, two fare inspectors found the young woman had an expired VTA youth pass and no identification.

Pacheco, who was with the young woman, also failed to produce proof of payment and both were asked to disembark from the train.

As a fare inspector asked more questions of the young woman, she told the inspector that she was being held against her will by Pacheco.

Pacheco is being held at the county jail and the youth, initially taken into protective custody, will reunite with her family soon if she hasn't already, Cardoza said.

Since the victim is a minor, Garcia said he could not comment on whether the youth has a history of running away.

In March, near the 2100 block of Coastland Avenue in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood. The man, described as a Hispanic male, was carrying some kind of electronic device, possibly a stun gun.

Police found no connection between this case and the disappearance of missing Morgan Hill Sierra LaMar during the course of their investigation.

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Raymond Ruiz April 13, 2013 at 10:54 pm
It just don't matter how she dresses,whoo her parents are or aren't. Nobody and I mean Nobody hasRead More the right to rape or force a femsle to have sex with her,and then to make matters worse,they posted pictures of her on facebook ! Better we as a community should be asking,what would possess the young guys to do something like this ! That is why We have Our teenagers and kids passwords or no internet period ! As a parent my heart goes out to het and her parents !
Tamra~Kathleen April 13, 2013 at 05:51 pm
The offensive comment we're discussing shows a complete lack of respect for women that permeates ourRead More culture. That this person actually thought this poor young girl had culpability for her attack is a symptom of our societies disregard for women. I'm actually glad he made the comment so we can look at and discuss the problem.
Berto April 12, 2013 at 07:27 pm
From one of the interviews I watched online, it seems that many Saratoga High students knew whatRead More happened at the party and had seen the pictures. How is it that arrests did not follow the assault and the suicide for over 6 months? Could it be that the students who knew information about the felony chose to remain silent? I hope that is not the case; we will surely find out as the details of the case are revealed in the media over the next weeks and months. In the meantime lets make sure we are teaching our kids about the responsibility of living in community and caring about others. God forbid that any of the students have to live with the knowledge that they could have prevented the suicide, or with the knowledge that they helped cover up such a heinous crime.