A man convicted in 2012 of felony animal cruelty was charged Thursday with a 2002 sexual assault.
Racine police say Angel Cartagena in 2002 attacked and raped a woman in the early morning hours of July 27,
2002 in an alley in the 1300 block of Superior Street. Investigators linked Cartagena to this incident because he was convicted in 2012 of felony animal cruelty and was required to give a DNA swab to the state.
According to the criminal complaint, a woman was walking home from a friend’s house, and she took a short cut through the alley. Cartagena was following the woman, she told police, and when he seemed about to pass her, he knocked her to the ground. When she attempted to get up, he smashed her head into the cement.
Police say Cartagena ordered the woman to take off her pants, and when she stood up to comply, she attempted to run, but the defendant knocked her down again. Cartagena removed the woman’s pants, and he raped her even as the woman continued to struggle to get away. When it seemed like the defendant hesitated, the woman ran away and flagged down a friend who was driving by.
The woman arrived home and called police. She was transported to St. Luke’s hospital and a sexual assault exam was performed and a kit created, the complaint reads.
Results from the woman’s rape kit were matched by the state crime lab to Cartagena’s DNA swab, and he was officially charged Thursday with second degree sexual assault in Racine County Circuit Court. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison and/or $10,000 in fines.
Cartagena remains in the Racine County Jail on $75,000 cash bond. His preliminary hearing is set for May 13.