Three years after being arrested for kidnapping, raping, and shooting a 12-year-old boy in Brownsville, the suspect is taking a plea agreement.
Aliex Santiesteban, 46, will spend 25 years in a state prison and 10 years on probation. On Wednesday, he appeared on Zoom in a courtroom while the victim’s family read impact statements. Santiesteban kept his face in the palms of his hands for most of the hearing.
Through an interpreter, the victim’s family described how damaging the attack has been for the victim and that “no one leaves this life without paying their debts.”
In March 2021, Santiesteban was charged with attempted murder, sexual battery with a deadly weapon, and kidnapping for the attack on the 12-year-old boy.
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Police say the young boy was on his way back home after meeting up with friends when Santiesteban kidnapped him, raped him in the back of his car, shot him in the face and dumped him on the street.
Surveillance video obtained by NBC 6 shows the victim stumbling to a convenience store with help from a good Samaritan who was riding a bike.
After police were called, he was rushed to the hospital in critical condition but survived the attack.
Former Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez called Santiesteban “the face of evil” when he was arrested several days after the attack following “compelling” DNA evidence collected by investigators.
Santiesteban has long denied committing the crime but is now taking the plea agreement which would keep him behind bars until he’s 71 years old.
Before he was sent off to state prison, Santiesteban made one last remark to the victim in court: “Only God knows the truth.”
The victim’s family responded: “The hand of God was there that you were not able to do it.”
