Jury Convicts Serial Rapist of Two Counts of Kidnapping with Intent to Commit a Sexual Assault

ALBUQUERQUE – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge for the FBI Albuquerque Office, announced today that on December 15, 2023, a federal jury returned two guilty verdicts against Timothy Bachicha, 41 of Albuquerque, after two and a half hours of deliberation. The jury convicted Bachcica of two counts of Kidnapping with Intent to Commit a Sexual Assault. Judge Matthew L. Garcia presided.

A federal grand jury issued a first indictment against Bachicha with Count 1 on July 25, 2019, and added Count 2 on January 29, 2020. According to evidence presented at trial and other publicly available court records, on October 30, 2018, Bachicha observed Jane Doe 1 walking down a residential street in Northeast Albuquerque. He stopped his vehicle and asked her if she wanted a ride. When Jane Doe 1 declined, he forcibly abducted her, pulling her into his vehicle by her neck. Once in the vehicle, Bachicha drove from the area of San Mateo and Indian School to a dirt lot near the UNM Cancer Center just east of Interstate 25. There, Bachicha held Jane Doe 1 for twenty hours while he strangled and sexually assaulted her. He released her the early afternoon of October 31, 2018, after receiving alerts that the battery on his court-ordered GPS monitor was dying.

Following news coverage of this crime, Jane Doe 2 came forward to disclose that, weeks earlier, she had been held for sixteen hours by Bachicha in a semi-truck in Albuquerque near Interstate 25 and Comanche Road. During the attack, Bachicha strangled Jane Doe 2 and sexually assaulted her. Bachicha’s GPS monitor confirmed his presence at the location and time described by Jane Doe 2.

Both women fought Bachicha during their attacks, and both testified against him in trial. The jury also heard from two other women who suffered similar attacks by Bachicha in 2017 and 2018.

“Bachicha targeted vulnerable women, hoping that the public would not believe them or care,” said U.S. Attorney Uballez. “But everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. We believe survivors of sexual assault, no matter their station in life, and will fight for the safety of the least of our brothers and sisters. These four women, some of whom were targeted because they were sex workers, courageously testified against their abuser in open court, and in doing so protected others from Bachicha’s serial sexual violence. These women stood up for each other, and for all of us, and for that have earned our respect and gratitude.”

“The FBI depends on our partnerships to help us protect communities,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda. “We will continue to work with our partners at every level to take those responsible for such heinous crimes off our streets.”

Bachicha will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. At sentencing, Bachicha faces up to two life sentences.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation adopted and continued the investigation of this case following extensive investigation by the Albuquerque Police Department, with assistance from the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office and the New Mexico State Probation and Parole Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Letitia Carroll Simms and Sarah J. Mease are prosecuting the case.

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