North Miami Beach man arrested for allegedly raping girlfriend's 11-year-old granddaughter
MIAMI -- A North Miami Beach man was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting and raping his girlfriend's underaged granddaughter for six years.
Diego Fernando Abellafranco, 58, was arrested on one charge of sexual battery of a minor on Thursday afternoon.
According to a warrant obtained from the North Miami Police Department, a detective met with the 11-year-old victim on Oct. 13, 2022. The victim told the detective that her school was closed due to Hurricane Ian and that her Fort Myers home did not have electricity, causing her family to move to North Miami Beach. She lives with her grandmother, who is the victim's legal guardian because her mother is dead.
The victim told the detective that on Oct. 9, 2022, she was "sexually abused" by her grandmother's boyfriend, Abellafranco. On that day, the victim was at home with the suspect and her younger cousins and playing with them outside.
According to the warrant, Abellafranco called out for the victim to come inside but she didn't want to come in alone, so she told her 9-year-old cousin to join her. However, the suspect stopped her and said he only wanted to see the victim.
When she walked into the bedroom, Abellafranco handed the victim a cell phone and she thought someone was on the other line; however, there wasn't. The suspect then locked the bedroom door and told the victim if she didn't do what he said, he would make her life "un infiel."
Abellafranco then told the victim to take her clothes off, pushed her onto the bed and then forced her to perform oral sex on his penis before he forced her into having sex, the warrant stated.
The victim then screamed for help, hoping someone would hear her. Then, her 9-year-old cousin knocked on the bedroom door, to which Abellafranco told the victim to hurry and put on her clothes.
The suspect then threatened the victim, saying that if she ever told anyone about the assault, he would tell her grandmother that she was smoking "weed," the warrant stated. The victim then got dressed and exited the bedroom crying.
According to the warrant, the victim said Abellafranco had been sexually abusing her for about six years; however, the suspect would tell her mother and grandmother that she lied every time she confessed. Also, the victim reportedly told a teacher about an incident when she was 7 years old and living in Colorado.
Later on Oct. 13, 2022, the victim spoke with another official on the Child Protection team. During this interview, she said her step-grandfather Abellafranco "raped" her and her account of the situation was consistent with her initial statement.
According to the warrant, the victim defined rape as "when a very old guy touches you when you don't want to be touched."
"I told my grandma that [Abellafranco] would rape me. My grandma would say it was a dream," the victim stated. "But it wasn't."
The victim added that she would tell him that she didn't want to do what he wanted and that the suspect would threaten to tell lies about her to her grandmother if she didn't comply.
Following the second interview, the Child Protection team official reported that the victim disclosed a long history of sexual abuse by Abellafranco, disclosing various acts of sexual assault in a medical evaluation.
On Oct. 31, 2022, detectives interviewed the suspect at the North Miami Beach Police Department and interviewed him in his native language of Spanish. According to the warrant, Abellafranco was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol during the interview and was read his Miranda rights before waiving his right to counsel.
During the interview, Abellafranco said that he and the grandmother had dated for 12 years and confirmed that the victim was his girlfriend's granddaughter. He told detectives that he had been helping with some home improvement jobs at the grandmother's home.
When he was approached by the family's great-grandmother about the victim's rape allegations, he said the victim had "always resented him" because of his relationship with the grandmother.
According to the warrant, Abellafranco told detectives that the victim made the same allegations against him in Colorado in 2016, and said that the victim fabricated the story and has been since labeled a "liar."
One of the detectives asked the suspect to elaborate, to which he replied that the victim had "a lot of resentment, hatred" toward him and didn't respect him, often telling him "[You're] so mean abuelo" because he would set boundaries and discipline her.
During the interview, Abellafranco also told detectives that he was working at the house on Oct. 9 and resting in the bedroom where one of the alleged assaults took place.
The victim then knocked on the door, telling him she had to tell him something she didn't want her grandmother to know. The victim then allegedly told the suspect she had a sexual relationship with an unknown boyfriend.
Abellafranco told the victim she had two weeks to tell her grandmother about the boyfriend, or else he would tell her. The victim told him that he had promised not to say anything and told him, "[You're] so mean abuelo."
One of the detectives questioned Abellafranco if the victim had so much resentment toward him, then why would she confide in him, to which he responded that he believed the victim had "mental problems," according to the warrant.
Later in the interview, the suspect said that when he told the victim to leave, she got enraged and left before quickly returning, knocking on the door and entering the bedroom like a "crazy person" before closing the door behind her.
She then told him that "You'll see what I'm going to do," before taking off her clothes while on the bed and screaming, "Let me go" and "Don't touch me," and that her cousins will come and that she would tell them that he was "touching" her, the warrant stated.
At that moment, the 9-year-old cousin knocked on the door, but the victim pushed the door shut, Abellafranco told detectives.
Detectives then asked the suspect about the Colorado allegations, which he claimed was just a "dream" the victim had and that "the case was closed." He also told detectives that the victim uses vapes and lies and that she has been sexually active with a boyfriend in Fort Myers.
According to the warrant, detectives asked Abellafranco if he would be willing to provide a DNA cheek swab, he initially complied before refusing after understanding the seriousness of the allegations.
On Oct. 13, a Child Protection team official interviewed the 9-year-old cousin as a witness to the case. According to the warrant, she said she was at home with Abellafranco and her three other cousins on Oct. 9, the date of the assault. While they were playing, the suspect only called for the victim to come into the bedroom. The cousin said she felt scared and her the victim screaming, so she knocked on the locked door, to which she saw the victim open the door and crying while the suspect was laying on the bed.
The cousin also talked about another incident where the grandmother went to "a study" and was left in Abellafranco's care with her other cousins. During this incident, the cousins asked the suspect if the victim could play with them but was told that "she can't" and was in the bedroom with her. The cousin told the Child Protection official that these incidents happened "a lot of times," according to the warrant.
On Oct. 27, 2022, an official with the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office's Children and Special Needs Unit interviewed the other two cousins, ages 6 and 8. While the 8-year-old provided no information about the case, the 6-year-old reported that the victim would scream while she and Abellafranco were in the "fixing room" at their house. When this would happen, the victim would be locked in the room and the suspect would be "squeezing her," adding that this would only happen to the victim and "no one else," the warrant stated. The cousin said he would hear the victim scream for help and that he and his brother would come in to help her.
According to the warrant, the bed sheet on the mattress where the alleged assault occurred was impounded, although about four days after the victim's DNA sample was obtained.
On May 24, arrangements were made by Abellafranco's attorney for a self-surrender and the suspect came to the North Miami Beach Police Department on Thursday. He was then transported to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
