A Rockville man has been arrested on charges that accuse him of raping a 9-year-old girl after she took trash to a bin outside her home.
Charging documents in the arrest of 37-year-old Wilmer Alvarado Gomez accuse him of approaching the girl around 7 p.m. last Thursday. She was playing outside a home on Parkland Drive in Rockville’s Wheaton Woods neighborhood after taking out the trash.
He’s accused of luring her to a wooded area nearby and committing offenses that constitute second degree rape of a child under Maryland law.
“This is very predatory behavior, right, and typically sometimes there can be other victims out there,” said Lt. Kristina Hedgepeth with Montgomery County Police.
Alvarado Gomez, who lives a few houses away from the young victim, asked for her phone number just before the assault, and she gave it to him.
Court documents say that after the assault began, the little girl asked Alvarado Gomez to stop, telling him he was hurting her.
She finally broke free and ran home, but he followed her and began to knock on her window.
Court documents say he then sent her multiple messages saying he wanted to have sex with her, along with pictures of himself naked below the waist.
The child’s mother saw them and called the police.
Investigators are asking the parents of children who may have come in contact with Alvarado Gomez to talk with them.
“Basically because of the nature of what occurred and the age of the victim, it definitely makes us wonder if there are any additional victims out there,” Hedgepeth said. “The problem sometimes with young children as victims is they may not know or be aware that what’s happening to them is a crime, and they may be fearful to come forward.”
Alvarado Gomez was quickly located and arrested and is currently being held behind bars.