SEATTLE -- Francisco Carranza-Ramirez, a convicted rapist who is wanted for allegedly attacking his victim after being released from jail, may have fled the country, the King County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
Detectives released a new photo of Carranza-Ramirez without his beard and long hair. Carranza-Ramirez was initially thought to be homeless in the White Center area, but investigators now believe he’s in Mexico.
The investigation is still ongoing, and felony warrants for the 35-year-old suspect remain active.
In October 2018, Carranza-Ramirez was charged with third-degree rape of a wheelchair-dependent woman. In February, he pleaded guilty at an arraignment.
The standard sentencing range for his crime is six to 13 months. He served almost nine months.
When released, detectives said the convicted rapist returned to the home of his victim and attacked her again.
“I thought he was going to kill me,” the victim, who does not want to be identified, said. “The way he had my throat, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t talk.”
"He actually assaulted her, hit her with something her on her head, knocking her off her wheelchair and then he strangled her, threatening to kill her," said Sgt. Ryan Abbott with the King County Sheriff's Office.
The victim remains in hiding, and she said she won’t be safe until police arrest Carranza-Ramirez.
“When he was pushing his way inside my apartment, I had a split-second opportunity to call 911,” she said. “I hoped the police were on the line, in reality, I had no idea if anyone was coming.”
And she’s afraid that as long as Carranza-Ramirez remains at large, he’s likely to attack again.
“I think that if he found a vulnerable person, especially,” she said. “I think he's a predator.”
