FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Torrington, CT) - Judicial District of Litchfield State’s Attorney David R. Shannon today announced that Jose L. Ortiz, age 46, of Torrington, has been charged with two counts of Sexual Assault in the First Degree in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-70(a)(2), one count of Sexual Assault in the Fourth Degree in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-73(a)(1), and three counts of Risk of Injury to a Minor in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53-21(a)(2).
Ortiz waived extradition from New York and was brought to Connecticut by members of the Connecticut State Police, Troop B, North Canaan, on Thursday, December 14, 2023. Ortiz was charged as a fugitive from justice on December 6, 2023, at approximately 10:30 p.m., by members of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs Border Protection, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police, after attempting to board an outbound flight from JFK Airport to Bogota, Columbia.
Ortiz was arraigned today in Torrington Superior Court, G.A. No. 18, where he was ordered held on a $1 million court-set bond, and his case was continued until February 6, 2024. The charges against Ortiz are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case will be prosecuted by the Litchfield State’s Attorney’s Office. The office is grateful for the assistance it received in this investigation from the Connecticut State Police (Troop B, North Canaan), Homeland Security Investigations in Hartford, U.S. Customs Border Protection (JFK Airport) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.