Woman used secret coded text to warn sister she was being raped, police say

On By Pranco

UNION CITY – A local resident has been accused of raping a woman in his home, a crime that police say was only discovered after the victim sent an encrypted text message to her sister.

Ricardo Tijero, 38, of Union City, has been charged with rape and forcible oral copulation and is being held in Santa Rita Jail in lieu of $220,000 bail, court records show. Tijero denied the allegations, claiming he met the alleged victim at a prostitution site and that she refused to leave his home, authorities said.

The woman confirmed to police that Tijero had contacted her on a website for sex workers and offered her $1,000 to come to his home for a few hours. But when she got there, he revealed he didn’t have the money and allegedly choked her to the point of unconsciousness when she said she wanted to leave, police said.

When she regained consciousness, Tijero allegedly sexually assaulted her. At one point, the woman was able to send her sister a text, but secretly a warning through the text; she reportedly sent a text message about her son, but deliberately used the wrong name. Her sister noticed the abnormality, took it as a sign that something was wrong and called a mutual friend to check on the woman at Tijero’s home in Union City, authorities said.

When the woman arrived at Tijero’s home on 7th Street, he began acting “aggressively” and refused to let her in, so she called 911, authorities said in court filings. When police arrived, they questioned Tijero and the alleged victim separately and then placed him under arrest.

Tijero has a previous conviction for assault likely to cause serious bodily harm, records show. He also has unrelated pending cases on charges of possession of burglary tools and petit larceny, according to jail records. His next court date is set for November 22.

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