Morris County Fugitive Nabbed in Mexico City Faces 2013 Child Assault Charge

A man wanted for more than a decade in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl in Morris County has been extradited from Mexico and is now back in New Jersey to face charges. Adrian Bautista was escorted from Mexico City to New Jersey on Friday, closing out a fugitive case that stretched back to 2013.

According to the FBI, Bautista was charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault against the child in Morris County in 2013, but he fled the state before facing prosecution, first to New York and later across the border into Mexico, as reported by WRNJ Radio. He remained at large for years before Mexican authorities with the Fiscalía General de la República-Agencia de Investigación Criminal took him into custody in Mexico City on October 31, 2025. That arrest occurred without incident and followed a U.S. extradition request.

Bautista now faces a Morris County child sexual assault charge brought by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office. FBI Newark, which escorted Bautista back to the U.S. on the return flight, publicly thanked its state and international law enforcement partners for the case, singling out both Mexican authorities and the prosecutor's office.

How a Decade-Old Warrant Finally Caught Up With Him

The bureau also specifically credited AIC-INTERPOL; Mexico's Fiscalía General de la República-Agencia de Investigación Criminal worked with INTERPOL to take Bautista into custody. The case's international extradition process followed years in which Bautista remained at large.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, two 2025 transfers from Mexico involved 29 fugitives on Feb. 27 and 26 fugitives on Aug. 12. The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Aug. 13, 2025, that the United States had taken custody of 26 fugitives from Mexico facing federal and state criminal charges.

The nearly 13-year gap between the original 2013 charge and Bautista's return preceded his return to face the charge.

Federal Funding Behind the Cross-Border Return

Bautista's trip back to the United States was funded through Project Welcome Home, a federal program that assists in returning state and local fugitives to face pending charges.

Once in New Jersey, defendants facing Morris County charges are typically held at the Morris County Correctional Facility.

If convicted, Bautista would face sentencing. Bautista has been charged but not convicted.

Support for victims of sexual violence in Morris County is available through local resources including the Morris Family Justice Center and the Morris County Sexual Assault Center.