California sex offender captured in Guatemala faces rape and kidnapping charges
02/20/2026 8:00 pm PST
ANAHEIM, Calif. (TCN) -- A registered sex offender was arrested in Guatemala after fleeing the United States to evade capture. He was charged with multiple felonies in connection with the rape of a 13-year-old girl in December 2025.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced that on Dec. 5, 2025, 34-year-old Brian Estuardo Verbena-Martinez pulled up alongside a girl who was walking and asked her if she needed a ride. He then allegedly became more aggressive until she got into the car. Over the next several hours, Verbena-Martinez allegedly sexually assaulted the girl, whose name has not been released, in multiple locations, including his own apartment while his children were home. He then allegedly dropped the girl off at her friend’s house.
After police identified Verbena-Martinez as the suspect, he allegedly left Orange County, California, and what the DA called a “multi-jurisdictional effort” by the FBI and various county agencies resulted in his capture in Guatemala, according to NBC Los Angeles.
He was returned to Orange County and charged with one felony count of kidnapping to commit a sex offense, one felony count of forcible rape, one felony count of sexual penetration of child under 14 years of age by force, one felony count of forcible oral copulation with a minor under the age of 14 years old, and three felony counts of lewd act upon a child under 14.
According to the DA, Verbena-Martinez was already a registered sex offender; he had been convicted in Los Angeles County in 2019 of arranging to meet a minor with the intent to engage in sexual conduct.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said, “The pursuit of justice knows no borders, and we will continue to go to the very ends of the earth to carry out our mission to secure accountability and safeguard public safety.”
The DA says that Verbena-Martinez faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted on all charges.
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