YORK COUNTY, Pa. — A Lancaster County man has been accused of raping a York County girl multiple times between the years 1985 and 1994, when the victim was between the ages of 4 and 13 years old, authorities claim in charging documents.
James Andrew Arroyo, 64, of Columbia, was charged on Sept. 26 by York County Regional Police, who began investigating when the victim, who is now an adult, called to inquire why a previous investigation launched when she initially reported the allegations to authorities in 1994 had never been completed.
The original investigation "appeared to be inconclusive," police said in the criminal complaint affidavit filed against Arroyo on Sept. 26.
Investigators found the original case files in the archives at the Windsor Township Office and conducted interviews with the victim, several of her relatives, and other witnesses in the case, the complaint states.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim told police Arroyo raped and sexually assaulted her at the home where he was living in Windsor Township and inside his pickup truck in secluded areas along the Susquehanna River near Wrightsville. Arroyo was able to be alone with the victim because her mother worked full-time while also going to school, the victim reported.
Arroyo raped the victim three to five times a week for about nine years, until she reported the incidents to authorities when she was 13 years old, the victim reported. At that point, Children and Youth Services placed the victim with her father, but she returned to her home months later, after her mother made Arroyo move out.
Investigators interviewed several of the victim's relatives, including her mother, who confirmed that the victim told them Arroyo was raping her when she was about 13 years old.
Another witness told police she saw Arroyo "french-kissing" the victim and grabbing her buttocks. She said she confronted Arroyo, who fled from the scene, and then called Children and Youth Services to report the incident.
The victim was placed in her father's house sometime after that, the witness told police.
Police also recorded a phone conversation between the victim and Arroyo in May, where she described the impact his abuse had on her life and asked if he was going to apologize.
Arroyo, who police described as "quiet" for most of the conversation, did say he was "sorry," but did not directly confirm any of the victim's allegations.
Arroyo also denied raping the victim in an interview with investigators in August, the complaint states. He claimed the victim reported the allegations to authorities in 1994 because she wanted to live with her father, and "only did this to get her way."
Arroyo is charged with a felony count of Rape by Forcible Compulsion, two felony counts of Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse by Forcible Compulsion, two felony counts of Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse with a Person Less than 16, a felony count of Statutory Sexual Assault, a felony count of Aggravated Indecent Assault Without Consent and a felony count of Aggravated Indecent Assault of a Person Less than 16.
He is being held in York County Prison, where he is awaiting a bail hearing that has been scheduled for Oct. 10, according to court records. A preliminary hearing originally scheduled for Oct. 16 has been moved back to Dec. 26, court records state.
