Fake worker accused of raping 77-year-old woman 10 months ago

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Authorities have made an arrest 10 months after they say a 77-year-old woman was brutally raped in a southwest Houston senior living facility.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office has been looking for the suspect seen on video from inside a living facility in the 13800 block of Canyon Hill Drive in the Beechnut area. Investigators say it shows the rapist enter the facility on Oct. 1, 2018 around 8 p.m.

"She absolutely no longer feels secure in her own home," says Jaling Bonnem, the victim's daughter, in an exclusive interview with ABC13. "She thinks everybody who comes knocking on her door is going to harm or hurt her."

"We think of grandparents, especially grandmothers as being sacred beings," said Harris County Sheriff's Investigator Cynthia Routh. "These are very special people in our lives, and to know that a grandmother was violated in this way, it just disgusted me."

Routh was able to pinpoint the surveillance video that captured the suspect, and then spent months gathering enough evidence to get charges filed.

Authorities say the man in the video is 29-year-old Bryan Arellano Monasterio. Monasterio was arrested Wednesday. He has been charged with two counts of aggravated sex assault of the elderly and one count of aggravated robbery of a person over 65.

The Harris County District Attorney's Elderly Abuse Section is prosecuting the case.

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According to authorities, the attacker broke into a secure area where he pretended to be a maintenance man. He covered the victim's peep hole before making his way inside her apartment. Deputies say he then dragged the woman to the bedroom, raped her, stole $160, and threatened to kill her before leaving.

An anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers helped identify Monasterio, whose DNA was later matched to the case.

According to Assistant District Attorney Mary McFaden, who is the chief of the Elderly Abuse Section, Monsaterio told the victim "he raped her because he had never had sex with an Asian woman."

"He violated her safety zone. He violated her home. He violated her. On so many levels, this is such an egregious assault," McFaden said.

Monasterio was indicted on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of an elderly person and one count of aggravated robbery of an elderly person. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

On Wednesday afternoon, Monasterio appeared before a judge.

"I just want him to realize that what he did was wrong," said Bonnem. "That he is not human for what he did. He's somebody's son. He hurt someone's mother, and he shouldn't have."

Given the heinous nature of the crime, Bonnem said her family is grateful that the case was not lost with prosecutors and investigators.

"They made us feel like they are not just going to blow us off, just another crime in Houston," said Bonnem. "They really made us feel they tried everything they can."

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