BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The mother of a Bellingham woman, raped by an illegal immigrant, says her daughter's attack should never have happened.
KING 5 is not identifying the mother to protect her daughter.
"When I heard about what happened my brain didn't know how to react," she said. "This man is the lowest scum on the earth."
Hector Salinas, 38, was convicted of raping the 58-year-old disabled homeless woman in a Bellingham park in 2008. Salinas was in the
U.S. from Mexico illegally. KING 5 uncovered last week that Salinas has been convicted with several violent crimes in the past, including
Robbery, Assault, Theft and Selling illegal narcotics.
He served prison time in Washington and California. According to court records, Salinas has been deported at least five times.
Salinas was able to cross back into the U.S. to commit crimes year after year.
"It makes me sick that no one was able to stop this man," the victim's mother said. "Something is broken. How could no one see
what was happening."
Her daughter spent four days in the hospital after the violent rape.
"She is permanently injured physically, but she will never heal emotionally. We are all haunted by what happened," she said.
Hector Salinas will be sentenced June 8 under the state's "Three Strikes You're Out" law. He will likely spend the rest of his
life in prison, with no possibility of parole.
