Arrest made in 1988 sex assault

A suspect in a sexual assault that happened 33 years ago has been arrested in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Marshals said Thursday.

Hermes Rivera, 67, was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force in Aguada, Puerto Rico, at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to Deputy U.S. Marshal Matthew Duffy, a supervisor in the warrants division.

Rivera is suspected of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old relative in the summer of 1988 in Connecticut. He is charged with second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor and will remain in custody in Puerto Rico until he is extradited to Connecticut.

The girl’s mother contacted authorities in Connecticut as soon as she learned of the abuse in 1988, Duffy said, and state and federal authorities have been looking for Rivera ever since. But he fled the state shortly after the crime, he said.

In October, the state police asked for help from the Connecticut-based U.S. Marshals Violent Task Force to find Rivera. Task forces in both Connecticut and Puerto Rico worked together and tracked Rivera to a semi-remote area of the island.

The marshals learned that he had obtained a Puerto Rico driver’s license under the name of his brother, Noel Rivera, and had been living under the false identity for some time.

The victim asked to give a statement to authorities and thanked them for not giving up on the case.

“Thank you for putting closure to this 33-year-old case,” she said. “I was hoping to someday have closure to this horrific chapter in my life, and I was hoping he would not die before being arrested.”