Accused Tri-Cities child rapist may have more Eastern WA victims, detectives say

Detectives believe a Benton City winery employee accused of two rapes in two counties may have attacked other teens.

Jose Marcelo-Bustos, 47, was already charged with a child rape in Grandview when he allegedly kidnapped, drugged and raped a Tri-Cities teen in mid-March.

He took that teen to a Benton City winery where he worked after contacting her through SnapChat, say authorities.

Now, Marcelo-Bustos is a suspect in other sexual assault cases involving minors in Yakima and Grant counties, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release this week.

In those cases, he allegedly used social media to contact the teens and children

Detectives are asking the public’s help in finding other possible Eastern Washington victims, according to the release.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Payten Hart at 509-518-3109 or email Payten.Hart@co.benton.wa.us.

Marcelo-Bustos is currently in the Benton County jail in lieu of $1 million bail in the Benton City case.

He is accused of contacting a Pasco teen through SnapChat while posing as a 16 year old boy. The teen got into a fight with her parents and asked Marcelo-Bustos to pick her up on March 14.

He took her to the winery where he was the cellar master, and when she asked to leave, he allegedly assaulted her, made her drink wine and allegedly attacked her again after she passed out.

At the time, Marcelo-Bustos was out of jail on his own recognizance pending a Yakima County trial for raping an elementary school girl he knew about 15 years earlier.

This story was originally published April 10, 2024 at 11:35 AM.