A 26-year-old Phoenix man is jailed after police say he held a teenage girl captive, subjected her to prolonged abuse and treated her like a forced-in homemaker. The case surfaced after the girl, now 17, arrived at a Glendale hospital with more than 50 documented injuries.
The allegations are detailed in court records reviewed by Fox 10 Phoenix. Investigators say David Jorge Ruvalcaba struck the girl 50 to 60 times with a glass alcohol bottle during a nearly 12-hour ordeal last Saturday into Sunday, and choked her until she lost consciousness multiple times.
Police Say The Relationship Began When She Was 15
The court records say Ruvalcaba met the girl through mutual friends in January 2025, when she was 15 and enrolled in 10th grade. She reportedly lived with him for about a year and told investigators about ongoing sexual abuse, an unwanted pregnancy that ended in an abortion in May, and recorded phone calls in which he made controlling statements. Police described her as “basically a housewife” during that period.
The investigation began Monday, when officers responded to Banner Thunderbird Medical Center after the girl sought treatment. A forensic nurse documented injuries across her face, arms, back and legs, along with signs of strangulation, according to the court records.
Ruvalcaba was arrested Thursday at his North Phoenix apartment complex near Cave Creek Road after the Black Mountain Precinct’s Neighborhood Enforcement Team tracked him there. Officers reportedly tried to lure him outside by claiming someone had hit his truck, then pursued him back into the apartment after he spotted police; a handgun was recovered nearby, according to Fox 10 Phoenix.
Charges And Next Court Date
Ruvalcaba faces charges including kidnapping, aggravated assault, strangulation, sexual conduct with a minor and resisting arrest. He remains in Maricopa County custody on a $250,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court next Thursday. The allegations have not been proven in court, and Ruvalcaba is presumed innocent unless convicted.
Anyone experiencing domestic abuse can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE, or text START to 88788; the service says calls and chats are confidential and available around the clock.
