Published: May 20, 2008 03:23 pm            

NAPD searching for rape suspect

Jose N. Catalan, 30, wanted, accused of rape of 15-year-old girl

Detectives from the New Albany Police Department are asking for help from the public in locating a suspect in the May 11 sexual assault of a 15-year-old New Albany girl.

A warrant for Jose Najera Catalan, 30, was issued May 14 in Floyd Superior Court, charging Catalan with rape, a class B felony. Police warn the public that he could be armed and is considered dangerous.

Catalan is a native of Illinois and is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs about 175 pounds. He has close-cropped black hair, brown eyes and large tattoos on both arms and the left side of his head, a press release from NAPD issued Tuesday says.

He drives a light gray or silver 1998 Toyota Camry with the Indiana “In God We Trust” license plate KQ1684. The car has body damage on both sides, police say.

A conviction for a B felony carries with it a sentence of six to 20 years and up to a $10,000 fine.

Anyone seeing or hearing of Catalan’s location should not approach him, but call NAPD’s Criminal Investigation Division at 812-948-5317 or call 911.

        

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