Two Maryland men, Jeofredo Andason Santos Bernal, 24, and Miguel De Jesus Pineda Lopez, 27, are facing multiple life-sentence felony charges after allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a juvenile girl at gunpoint across two counties. The incident began on May 8, 2026, when the victim sought a ride via Snapchat and was picked up by the suspects in a black two-door car. According to charging documents released by the Baltimore Sun, the suspects drove her to a park in Lanham, forced her to consume alcohol, and raped her multiple times at gunpoint before transporting her to a Red Roof Inn motel in Aberdeen, Maryland.
The multi-county ordeal ended on Saturday, May 9, when Aberdeen Police Department officers noticed the juvenile in severe distress outside the motel. Investigators from the Criminal Investigations Division quickly took over the case, tracking down Santos Bernal and Pineda Lopez during a traffic stop later that evening as they attempted to leave the motel premises. A subsequent search warrant allowed detectives to recover the handgun believed to have been used during the assaults. While the suspects admitted to having sex with the victim, they claimed it was consensual; however, reviewed Snapchat logs showed the victim explicitly stated she had no sexual desires prior to the pickup.
Publicly accessible case files from the Maryland Judiciary indicate that neither suspect has a significant prior violent criminal history in the state, with court proceedings focused almost entirely on their current heavy felony bookings. Both men are charged with two counts of first-degree rape—specifically for deploying a dangerous weapon and causing serious physical injury—alongside first-degree assault and firearm use in a violent crime. Currently held without bail in Harford County District Court, Pineda Lopez is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on June 9, 2026, while Santos Bernal’s hearing is set for June 10, 2026.