BURKE COUNTY, NC — It took jurors only 90 minutes to find a 29-year-old Morganton man guilty on Wednesday for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl, according to a release.
Court officials say Ricardo Garcia will spend the next 20 to 29 years in prison for the statutory rape of a young girl back in 2015. According to reports, on the morning of March 6, 2015 Garcia, who was a former neighbor of the victim, picked her up at the bus stop and told her he would take her to school. Garcia instead took the victim to a motel where he had rented a room, according to officials, and forced her to have sex with him.
Officials say federal immigration authorities also have a detainer on Garcia, and he will be deported at the end of his sentence.
