Kennewick man admits raping teen girl, violating no-contact order

A Kennewick man admitted raping a young teen girl he was ordered to stay away from more than a year after he’d forced her to go with him to Mexico.

Edwardo F. Flores Rosales, 22, faces between three and four years in prison for the March 2015 crimes.

Benton County Deputy Prosecutor Julie Long said she will recommend a sentence of three years and eight months.

Flores Rosales previously served three months in the county jail for picking up the girl during her school lunch break in Kennewick in December 2013 and driving her to Mexico.

The two had broken up the night before the girl went missing, and she had told her mother they were going to say goodbye at lunch.

Flores Rosales lied to the girl’s mother about knowing the teen’s whereabouts, refused to send a picture showing the girl was OK and prevented her from using the phone.

The case triggered an Amber Alert.

Eventually, the mother learned of her daughter’s location, traveled to Mexico and, after being threatened by Flores Rosales and his father that the girl was at their property, got help from the government and law enforcement to remove the teen from the home.

The girl and her mother returned to the Tri-Cities, as did Flores Rosales.

He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of unlawful imprisonment and was ordered to stay away from the girl for five years.

But on March 2, Flores Rosales confronted the girl as she was leaving school and told her to get in his vehicle. The girl later told police she followed his order because he had assaulted her in the past and she was nervous, according to court documents.

He took her to his apartment, forced her to have sex and threatened to claim that she had come to his house looking for him in violation of the order, documents said.

Flores Rosales was arrested that same day. He denied the girl had been in his home and said it would be her word against his.

He then admitted they had sex but claimed they were in a relationship, and explained any marks on her arms would be from him grabbing the girl as she tried to leave in the middle of a conversation.

Flores Rosales has been ordered held without bail after entering his guilty pleas to felony violation of a post-conviction protection order and two counts of third-degree rape of a child.

Sentencing is set for March 30.

This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Kennewick man admits raping teen girl, violating no-contact order."