Another criminal illegal alien has been caught after evading the law for over a decade.
Leonel Catalan-Torreblanca is facing 30 charges in a serial rape case that began in March 2013 after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) used DNA to crack the case.
The charges against Catalan-Torreblanca include felonies that carry potential sentences of up to 50 years in prison, Indiana prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a news conference on Wednesday.
The last alleged rape was reported in January 2024, and investigators knew the incidents that began 11 years ago were connected because the DNA at the crime scenes matched. Still, they lacked a match to the offender, Fox News reported.
ICE’s recent entry of Catalan-Torreblanca’s DNA into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) triggered the alert.
“Incredible work out of @FBIIndianapolis — our FBI teams and partners used advanced DNA technology and our Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to charge the suspect,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote in a statement on X.
An illegal alien has been charged in connection to 5 sexual assaults over an 11-year span.
30 charges have been filed over incidents that occurred from
2013-2024.Incredible work out of @FBIIndianapolis – our FBI teams and partners used advanced DNA technology and our… pic.twitter.com/mND4tFPGNs
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) May 6, 2026
Catalan-Torreblanca’s was confirmed to be in the country illegally, though officials said they’re “not entirely sure exactly where he’s from originally,” Fox News reported.
Ryan Hedrich with WIBC News reported locally on the case.
“Charges include rape, burglary, kidnapping, and strangulation,” Hedrich said.
Police in Indianapolis and the FBI say an illegal immigrant is in jail facing 30 charges connected to five separate rape cases over an 11-year period. A jury trial is scheduled for July. @suretocover reports. pic.twitter.com/pOV5Z1dmT8
— 93 WIBC Indianapolis (@93wibc) May 6, 2026
While X users were happy he was caught, they were simultaneously and justifiably angry that Catalan-Torreblanca was in the country and allowed to reign terror on innocent Americans for over a decade.
But he has been here 11 years. He is an American. NOPE. This is a good example why the amount of time living here illegally is irrelevant.
— Sarita (@Saritaregresa) May 6, 2026
Very deserving of the death penalty if there is ever a case of special reason! He should die in prison because he can never be rehabilitated! I would hate to even think that someone like this would have a release date Back into the community to cause more harm and pain!…
— Mikhael Williams (@Mikhael4Tsiyon) May 6, 2026
Please start using the Firing Squad on these rapists and murderers!
— Anita I Shih Tzu Not! (@AnitaMorga6224) May 6, 2026
“Catalan-Torreblanca is being held on a standard bond. It is unclear if ICE has lodged an immigration detainer against him,” Fox News Digital said.
