The 35-year-old Guatemalan immigrant who took 12-year-old Maria Gomez-Lopez young girl from Gainesville to Dover, Ohio, last year has pleaded guilty to rape and other charges. Antonio Agustin recently admitted two counts of rape, one count of gross sexual imposition, and two counts of pandering.
Agustin in July after he was spotted at a swimming pool in Dover with Gomez-Lopez who had been reported missing from Gainesville in May 2024. Her disappearance sparked a huge response in Gainesville and beyond, with billboards and searches in several states.
Investigators got a break in the case about eight weeks after the girl went missing when she contacted her father on Facebook. That allowed authorities to track a cell phone to Dover. Sheriff’s deputies followed them to Walmart in New Philadelphia, Ohio, where they arrested Agustin and recovered the girl.
Investigators said the girl left home willingly after connecting with Agustin online.
Agustin has been held in the Tuscarawas County, Ohio, Jail without bail since the pair was found.
He initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea earlier this month last week following competency and sanity evaluations. He had been scheduled to go on trial in Dover April 9.
Hall County District Attorney Lee Darragh has said Georgia charges are likely to be filed against him.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: 97.5 Glory FM does not usually identify sexual assault victims by name but in this case, it had been widely known for almost a year.)
(Pictured: Agustin sits in an Ohio courtroom during a hearing last year.)
(Our thanks to Jamie Hambach, WJER, Dover-New Philadelphia, Ohio, for help with this story.)