The Carolina prosecutors’ office filed three criminal charges against Sarnabe Merán Pérez for allegedly committing lewd acts against a 14-year-old girl in incidents that occurred in Loíza between May 2019 and May 2021. Justice Department Secretary Lourdes L. Gómez Torres said the investigation indicates Merán Pérez took the girl to the Piñones beach and used the moments when he was teaching her to swim to commit the lewd acts.
Special prosecutor Julivett Figueroa Delgado, of Carolina’s Specialized Unit, filed the three charges under Article 133(a) of the Puerto Rico Penal Code. Judge Geisa Marrero Martínez, of the Carolina Court of First Instance, found probable cause for arrest in absentia on all three charges, set a global bail of $150,000 and ordered electronic monitoring. The defendant will be extradited from the Dominican Republic.
Agent Mercedes Marín, assigned to the Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Division of the Carolina Criminal Investigations Corps, led the investigation.