Updated: Texas Man Charged in Rape of 11-Year-Old Girl in Bemidji

Oscar Ernesto Luna (Courtesy: Beltrami County Jail – In Custody)

Update 5:27 pm: (Updated with information from Bemidji Police regarding a corrected location of where the alleged sexual assault took place as well as other individuals that were identified at the house where Luna was arrested.)

Original Story:

A 22-year old man from Mission, Texas is in custody and charged in connection with the rape of an 11-year-old girl who was tied up naked in the basement of a home in Bemidji.

Oscar Ernesto Luna is being held in the Beltrami County Jail and faces one count of Criminal Sexual Conduct-1st Degree-Penetration or Contact under 14 while being at least 36 months older.

According to the criminal complaint in the case, Luna, along with four other men, sexually assaulted her with their hands and genitals.

A physical examination at the Family Advocacy Center of Northern Minnesota showed the victim suffered numerous injuries from a sexual assault.

The girl told detectives there were other minor girls also tied up at the house located at 1821 America Court NW who were also assaulted. She said one girl was in the closet, bloody and unconscious.

The girl told investigators that she was staying with her aunt, 24-year-old Verna Fairbanks, and Fairbanks made her get into car with the suspects who put a bag over her head and brought her to the house on America Court NW.

The victim says Fairbanks forced her to drink alcohol by grabbing her mouth and using her nails and a rope was tied around her neck at some point.

The girl gave a description of one of the men who assaulted her who went by the name “Panda” and had unique face tattoos and an eyebrow piercing.

Law enforcement identified Luna as a suspect based on the description the girl provided, and Luna was arrested after a search warrant was executed at a house located on America Court NW. During the execution of the search warrant, multiple items containing blood were located.

Luna denied sexually assaulting the girl but admitted knowing Fairbanks. Luna provided a consensual DNA sample for testing.

According to a press release from the Bemidji Police Department several other individuals were located and identified in the house on America Court NW. Eleven of them were transported by U.S.. Border Patrol to be processed as illegal immigrants.

More charges may be coming in the case. We will update the story when those become public.

Note: The original story posted cited a different address from the criminal complaint as the location that the alleged sexual assault took place. That has now been corrected by Bemidji police and is corrected in this story. The latest information from Bemidji police states the alleged sexual assault and location where the search warrant was executed as the same location at 1821 America Court NW.