Multilingual sheriff's investigator aids in crisis

A language barrier prevented law enforcement from taking immediate action in a case resulting in kidnapping, criminal sexual assault, and grand larceny charges.

Manuel Enrique Soler-Escobar, 25, was arrested on July 29 after allegedly stealing a woman’s car, sexually assaulting her, and then fleeing the state with her six-year-old child.

Barnwell County Sheriff Office (BCSO) deputies were notified on July 8 by emergency room personnel at the Hampton Regional Medical Center in Varnville that they were administering care to an adult woman stating she had been assaulted in Barnwell County.

The victim only spoke Spanish, making it difficult for Hampton Police Department officers to take a statement or learn her basic information.

“The Hampton Police Officer stated that none of them spoke Spanish either and could not get much out of the victim because they were trying to translate through an app,” states BCSO’s incident report.

BCSO Investigator German Galarza, who speaks Spanish, was then notified and arrived at the hospital.

“Once he arrived on scene, he got the information of the victim and the offender,” states the report.

BCSO’s investigation determined Soler-Escobar had sexually and physically assaulted the victim. Soler-Escobar, accompanied by Alondra Ramos Castillo– the victim’s sister, then kidnapped the child and began fleeing to Texas, according to BCSO. The subjects stole the victim’s 2012 Nissan Frontier.

After swift action by BCSO and surrounding authorities, the subjects were located in Alabama by the Alabama Highway Patrol. The child was found safe and returned to the victim.

Soler-Escobar was transported to the Barnwell County Detention Center and charged with kidnapping, criminal sexual conduct and grand larceny.

The arrest warrant for the charge of criminal sexual conduct states, Soler-Escobar “forcibly penetrated the victim with his penis and a wooden rod.”

Castillo remains in Alabama awaiting extradition of her warrants.