A fugitive from justice who fled to Mexico after being charged with child rape over 15 years ago pleaded guilty to charges filed against him in Westchester Tuesday, Sept. 23.
Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacase said Galo Herrera, 53, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree rape Tuesday before Judge Maurice Dean Williams after he was indicted on several counts of child sexual assault in 2008.
Hererra is accused of forcibly raping a child under the age of 13 several times in Mount Vernon between December 2006 and January 2007.
In 2008, he was indicted for predatory sexual asssault against a child, two counts of first-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child.
Herrera fled Westchester to Mexico before he was arrested, where he remained for over a decade. Cacace said he was extradited to Westchester in early 2025. “The defendant’s cowardly scheme to evade accountability, nearly 20 years in the making, could not outrun the long arm of the justice system,” said Cacace in a statement Wednesday. “In the intervening years, this office never ceased working to secure his return to the United States. I am hopeful this guilty plea will provide the victim with the closure she has long deserved.”
Hererra’s sentencing is scheduled for October, where he is expected to receive up to 18 years in prison and up to 20 years of post-release supervision.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Galo Herrera pleads guilty to child rape charges in Westchester NY