Cape Coral child sexual battery suspect found hiding in Mexico after multi-agency manhunt

Layza Pinero RestoCAPE CORAL, Fla. —

A suspect wanted in connection with a 2022 child sexual battery case was located in Mexico and arrested, in an effort led by the Cape Coral Police Department’s Special Victims Unit and federal authorities.

CCPD says that in Dec. 2022, officers responded to a report of an incident occurring at an apartment. An investigation was launched into allegations that a man named Jesus Leon Leyva, 42, exposed himself and committed sexual battery against a juvenile victim.

Leyva, according to CCPD, fled the area, prompting a multi-agency manhunt.

Investigators with the U.S. Marshals Service Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force’s Fort Myers office found out that Leyva was in Mexico. Mexican authorities and the U.S. Marshals coordinated to locate and apprehend him.

Leyva is being held in Harris County, Texas, and is awaiting extradition to Lee County. He faces a charge of sexual battery on a child.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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