A California man was convicted in a jury trial this week in Lawrence County Superior Court Two for the rape of a 12-year-old girl from Eastern Greene County in September of 2024.
The Greene County Sheriff’s Office says the girl, who had been reported missing, was located at a motel in Lawrence County.
Flock camera details were used to confirm the identity of the suspect, 45-year-old Bernardo Tapia of San Jose, California, who was arrested a few days later in northern Indiana.
Tapia was found guilty this week of two counts of Rape, two counts of Child Molesting, two counts of Promotion of Child Sexual Trafficking, two counts of Strangulation, and one count of Obstruction of Justice.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 27th in Lawrence Superior Court Two.
The sheriff’s office says investigators determined Tapia was in contact with numerous underage girls in multiple states and that there would have been more victims had he not been arrested.