MARION, Ill. (WSIL) -- A Williamson County man faces abuse and kidnapping charges in a case that crosses state lines and the U.S.-Mexico border.
Authorities charged Wuilmer Bautista, 38, of Marion, last week with kidnapping by threat of force (Class 2 Felony), unlawful restraint (Class 4 Felony), and aggravated domestic battery (Class 2 Felony) according to court documents filed September 3.
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Last month, court documents say, Bautista paid an immigrant smuggler, or 'coyote', $4,500 to bring a woman from Honduras to the Mexican border and then to Marion. Two weeks after arriving in Marion, she left to Nashville, Tennessee to be with family and escape Bautista's abuse, court documents allege.
On September 2, the arrest affidavit says Buatista paid another man $400 to bring the woman from Nashville back to him in Marion. When the man arrived, documents say he threatened to kill the victim and her family if he didn't return with him to Marion.
Bautista held the woman in his Russell Street residence against her will after returning to Marion, court documents say. Bautista allegedly slapped the victim with an open hand to the face and proceeded to strangle the woman for five to 10 seconds and attempted to take her phone away upon arrival, court documents say.
Back in Nashville, the victim's family contacted local police and filed a missing persons' report, according to court documents. Nashville Metro Police then reached out to Marion Police after NMPD tracked the woman's cellphone to a residence on Russell Street, court documents say.
At around 10:16 p.m. September 2 Marion Police canvassed the area but couldn't locate the abducted female or the alleged vehicle used to bring her, court documents say. At around 11:51 p.m., a sergeant began texting the woman about her whereabouts.
Around 1:26 a.m., the sergeant knocked on a garage door and the woman heard the knock which confirmed her whereabouts, according to court documents. Police arrested Bautista and booked him into the Williamson County Jail on September 3.
News 3 went to the residence where the alleged crime happened and found Mr. Bautista arriving home from the grocery store. He told News 3 the allegations are lies by the woman so that she doesn't have to pay Bautista back for bringing her to the U.S. Bautista says he and the victim had a mutual agreement.
A group of friends paid $3,000 to get Bautista out of jail, he says. He has a preliminary hearing at the Williamson County Courthouse on September 27 at 1:15 p.m.
