A high-profile transgender human rights activist from El Salvador was arrested last week on charges of alleged forcible sodomy, sexual abuse, and extortion, relating to a minor.
Carlos Arturo Aparicio Hernandez, also known as āRaiza Daniela,ā was granted asylum in the United States in 2017 after fleeing El Salvador. Hernandez was featured in The New York Times in 2018 speaking out about the gender identity discrimination of LGBTQ migrants and recounting the experience of allegedly being assaulted by police.
Raiza Daniela Aparicio Hernandez, then 33, told the New York Times she had been physically assaulted by four police officers in her El Salvador home. Raiza Daniela said police had entered the home without a warrant, and she was harassed and threatened.
āThey beat me. They beat me a long time,ā Hernandez told the NYT.
Hernandez went on to lobby the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on self-identification and gained notoriety at various events and institutions. In 2017 Hernandez also reposted advocacy against sexual violence calling for the safety of children.
In January 2021 it is alleged Hernandez posed as a 15-year-old girl on social media.
A 15-year-old boy had accepted a Facebook request from Hernandez, believing the request to have come from a 15-year-old girl.
Post Millennial said that according to court documents, āAfter communicating for months, the victim sent nude photos at the request of Hernandez and was later asked to meet in person.ā
After inviting the online friend to his home in West Valley City Utah, the victim realized the person he thought was a 15-year-old girl was 36-year-old Hernandez.
The documents further allege that Hernandez forced the boy to engage in āsexual actsā using blackmail, threatening to release the victimās explicit photos if he did not submit. Documents further state that Hernandez recorded the sexual assaults.
Under the threat of blackmail, the two met on three separate occasions.
After receiving reports of the incidents, the West Valley Police Department executed a search warrant to access the victimās Facebook account and arranged a meeting with Hernandez.
When Hernandez; a biological male who identifies as a woman; showed up at the meeting he was arrested and taken to Salt Lake County Jail.
Andy NgƓ an independent journalist and author tweeted news of the arrest last Friday.
According to a āscreen grabā of charge information published by the Post Millennial, Hernandez āRaiza Danielaā was charged with 16 felony counts which included, forcible sodomy, forcible sexual abuse, aggravated sexual extortion of a child vulnerable adult, sexual exploitation of a minor, entice/solicit/seduce or lure a minor by internet or text, and sexual exploitation of a minor.
Raiza Daniela Aparicio Hernandez is reportedly being held at Salt Lake City Jail and is awaiting trial.
