Jose Santos Arrested When Entering U.S. Along Texas Border…
BOYNTON BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in 1992 will now spend 12 years in prison. Boynton Beach PD issued this statement to BocaNewsNow.com on Monday:
>> On June 8, 1992, Boynton Beach Police officers responded to the Tri-Rail Station near 2800 High Ridge Road following reports of a sexual assault that had just occurred. Witnesses told police that the suspect had fled the scene and was running along the F.E.C. railroad tracks. Shortly thereafter, the suspect, 27-year-old Jose A. Santos, was located and taken into custody.
The investigation revealed that earlier that afternoon, Santos had followed a 15-year-old girl from the area of Lake Worth Road and Congress Avenue to the Lake Worth Tri-Rail Station. According to the victim, she had traveled by Tri-Rail from Boynton Beach to Lake Worth and began walking west from the station when an unknown adult male riding a bicycle approached her, then began following her and initiating conversation. His comments quickly escalated, becoming inappropriate and sexual in nature, and despite her repeated attempts to distance herself, he persisted in following her for an extended period.
The victim eventually met up with a friend and was able to break away from him. Later that afternoon, when she returned to the Tri-Rail station, the same male approached her again — this time wearing different clothing. He resumed following her, making unwanted sexual comments and refusing to leave her alone despite her efforts to disengage, pursuing her to a nearby convenience store, back to the station, and ultimately onto the train.
The victim boarded the train to return home to Boynton Beach, and Santos, later identified as her pursuer, boarded the same train behind her. When she exited at the Boynton Beach station, Santos exited as well, kidnapped her, dragged her into the adjacent woods, and brutally sexually assaulted her.
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Santos later provided a full confession and was charged with Kidnapping, Sexual Assault, and Lewd or Lascivious Battery. At the time of his arrest, the courts granted Santos bail; shortly thereafter, he fled the area.
More than 31 years later, on December 1, 2023, Santos was arrested on his active 1992 warrant after entering Texas from Mexico. Detectives from the Boynton Beach Police Department’s Special Victims Unit and the State Attorney’s Office were notified. A court order for Santos’s DNA was executed, and the results positively matched the DNA recovered from the 1992 Sexual Assault Kit.
On September 9, 2026, 58-year-old Jose A. Santos was sentenced to 12 years in prison — the maximum sentence allowable for his crimes under the 1992 sentencing guidelines.
This investigation demonstrates that criminal activity does not stop at jurisdictional boundaries, underscoring the importance of strong collaboration among local, state, and federal law enforcement partners.<<
