Apr 16, 2013 2 min read

Two Canton Township men pleaded guilty in federal court Monday in a kidnapping and sexual assault case involving a mentally disabled woman from Wheeling, W.Va., in July.

U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II in Wheeling said Jose Jesús Tapia Montes, 38, and Elmer Pina Pinto, 44, entered pleas of guilty to aiding and abetting in the transportation of an individual in interstate commerce with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Investigators were led to the men after finding a gum wrapper with the name Jesus and a phone number written on it when the 19-year-old woman was found July 11 in Wheeling after being missing for four days. The men held her captive for those days at Montes’ home on West Wylie Avenue, where she was sexually assaulted.

The FBI traced the phone number to Montes and learned it had been used July 7 in a six-block area around a convenience store where the woman had been abducted during the same time period.

The woman told investigators she had been taken by two men who didn’t speak fluent English, that the driver was called “Choice” and the other man seemed to be his boss. However, she was unable to describe their appearances or the car they used that day, court records indicate.

A witness came forward and was shown a photograph of Montes, whom she knew as “Choo.” The witness also said Montes was known to her as a boss at a roofing company and he was always with a man named Elmer.

Under questioning, Montes admitted to being with Pinto the day of the abduction and that Pinto was the driver. He confessed to having sex once with the woman but initially denied any wrongdoing. The victim told investigators she was forced to have sex with her captors, court records indicate.

Pinto was arrested in September by U.S. Customs and Immigration officials in Columbus, Ohio, as he attempted to return to Mexico. Montes had already been in custody at the time under a federal indictment in the case.

Both remain in federal custody, awaiting sentencing, and face up to 10 years in prison.