José Amaya-Vasquez, Cross-State Kidnapping and Rape, NJ 2024

CAMDEN, N.J. – José Amaya-Vasquez, 32, a Honduran national, has admitted to a horrific crime spree that spanned multiple states. He pleaded guilty today to kidnapping a former girlfriend in Kansas City, Missouri, and subjecting her to repeated sexual assault as he forced her on a harrowing journey to New Jersey. Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced the guilty plea, marking a significant step toward justice for the victim.

The details of Amaya-Vasquez’s crimes are chilling. On May 23, 2015, he confronted the victim in the parking lot of a Burlington Coat factory in Independence, Missouri. Brandishing a knife, he forced her into her vehicle, bound her with duct tape, and also abducted her 2-year-old child. He then drove them to an abandoned house in Kansas City where, at knifepoint, he sexually assaulted the victim. This wasn’t a fleeting act of violence; it was the beginning of a two-day ordeal.

From May 24th through May 25th, 2015, Amaya-Vasquez drove the victim and child toward New York, stopping at motels in Englewood, Ohio, and Bellmawr, New Jersey. At each stop, he continued the brutal sexual assault, holding the victim captive and terrorizing her. The depravity of his actions underscores the danger posed by individuals who repeatedly disregard the law and prey on vulnerable victims.

Law enforcement finally intervened on May 26, 2015, when officers from the Bellmawr Police Department, alerted by the Kansas City Police Department, located the victim at a motel in Bellmawr, New Jersey. Amaya-Vasquez attempted to flee as officers approached, but was quickly apprehended by officers from Bellmawr and Mt. Ephraim. He has remained in custody ever since. This quick response prevented further harm to the victim and her child.

This wasn’t Amaya-Vasquez’s first run-in with the law – or with immigration authorities. Records show he first attempted to enter the U.S. illegally in 2005, was arrested, and released with a Notice to Appear in Immigration Court, which he promptly ignored. An Immigration Judge issued an Order of Removal. He was subsequently removed from the U.S. twice, in 2014 and 2014 again, and barred from re-entry for 20 years. He admitted to illegally re-entering the country in January 2015. He also faced a domestic assault charge in Kansas City in 2014 after attacking the same victim, throwing a comb at her and pushing her into a table.

Amaya-Vasquez pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping, carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. He also pleaded guilty to interstate domestic violence, with a potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and illegally re-entering the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for September 8, 2017. The investigation was a collaborative effort led by the FBI’s South Jersey Resident Agency, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, the Kansas City Police Department, and the Bellmawr Police Department.

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