A cross-border manhunt for an Anaheim sex offender ended in Guatemala last week, where authorities arrested 34-year-old Brian Estuardo Verbena-Martinez. The registered sex offender is accused of kidnapping and repeatedly raping a 13-year-old Orange County girl and now faces multiple felony counts that could send him to prison for life without the possibility of parole, prosecutors said.
According to a press release by the Orange County District Attorney's Office, Westminster police identified Verbena-Martinez in the December 5 incident after investigators say he pulled up next to the girl while she was walking and escalated his behavior until she entered his vehicle. Prosecutors allege he assaulted the girl over several hours in multiple locations, including parking lots and his apartment, while other children were present, before dropping her off at a friend’s home in Garden Grove. The DA's office has charged him with kidnapping to commit a sex offense, forcible rape, sexual penetration of a child under 14 by force, forcible oral copulation with a minor under 14, and three counts of lewd act upon a child under 14.
How investigators tracked him down
Officials credited a multi-jurisdictional effort that pulled in federal, local, and international partners. The investigation involved the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, the FBI’s Orange County Resident Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, Guatemala’s Policia Nacional Civil/Transnational Anti-Gang Task Force, and local police. Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis called the allegations “beyond horrific” in the DA's release (Orange County District Attorney's Office), which notes the suspect was located and arrested last week. The capture was also flagged publicly by the FBI Los Angeles on X.
Charges and record
Deputy District Attorney Tom Farnell of the DA's Sexual Assault Unit is set to prosecute the case, according to local reporting. Verbena-Martinez has been a registered sex offender since a 2019 Los Angeles County conviction for arranging to meet a minor with the intent to engage in sexual conduct, according to CBS News Los Angeles. If convicted on the newly filed counts, he faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
What happens next
Prosecutors say the Orange County District Attorney’s Office will move forward with charges in county court while law enforcement partners coordinate any international custody and transfer procedures. The DA’s release and local reporting note this arrest is the third fugitive returned to Orange County this year from countries including Mexico, Vietnam, and Guatemala, an example officials point to when discussing cross-border cooperation (MyNewsLA). Prosecutors will proceed with the case in Orange County courts, authorities say.
