Cable worker accused of raping teen girl

HOUSTON

The victim says she was raped and her life threatened by an intruder in the middle of the night. She and police have now identified the suspect as the cable guy who was in her southeast Houston home just days before. The alleged attack happened at a home in the 10800 block of Telephone on July 30, 2010.

The girl's mother says her teenage daughter now lives in fear. The accused rapist, who investigators say just days prior had installed cable at their home, hasn't yet been caught.

We're not identifying the teen's mother so as not to identify her daughter, who police say was raped inside their home at the King's Row trailer park.

She wept as she told us about a night in July when her 14-year-old daughter was asleep in her bedroom just feet away as it happened.

Investigators say someone pried open the back door and that the teen awoke to find a man standing over her. According to court documents he allegedly "got on top of her and held a knife and screwdriver to her neck."

Police say he raped her in her own bed while threatening to kill her and her family if she screamed. The girl later identified the suspect as the cable guy, a man who, just two days prior, had installed cable at her home. He left his business card: Jose Jose Torres. The girl identified him in a photo lineup.

"He did consent to giving a buccal swab," Harris County Assistant District Attorney Lauren Bard said.

Bard says Torres gave investigators a saliva sample but tests on a rape kit from the girl returned no evidence with which to compare his DNA.

"The suspect actually wore a condom, put one on while it was kinda going on, so while there's not any DNA to compare it to, there's a reasonable explanation as to that," Bard said.

We've learned from Comcast that Torres was a contract employee for another company. Still, Comcast issued this statement reading in part, "We are horrified by these very serious allegations and have been cooperating with the authorities since their investigation began."

Torres told police he did not attack the girl. We've learned, however, that he refused to take a lie detector test.