Sheriff Brian Hess announces the arrest of Cesar Hernandez Rodriguez, 34, a citizen of Mexico, in connection with multiple sexual assaults that occurred in the Town of Putnam Valley in July 2022.
On July 6, 2022, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the sexual assaults of two women, which occurred on July 4 and 5, 2022, in the Town of Putnam Valley. Through the investigation,
Hernandez Rodriguez was identified as a suspect. He fled the United States to Mexico shortly after the incident, and in September 2022, a Putnam County Court arrest warrant was issued for him. Hernandez Rodriguez was recently taken into custody in Toronto, Canada, on that warrant. He was flown to New York by the United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force, and on October 7, 2026, Sheriff’s Office investigators took custody of him at LaGuardia Airport with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Port Authority Police Department.
Hernandez Rodriguez was charged with:
- Predatory Sexual Assault (seven counts), a Class A felony
- Rape in the First Degree (three counts), a Class B felony
- Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, a Class B felony
- Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a Class D felony
- Rape in the Third Degree (three counts), a Class E felony
- Forcible Touching, a Class A misdemeanor
He was arraigned in Putnam County Court and remanded to the Putnam County Correctional Facility without bail.
Two other individuals were previously arrested in 2022 in connection with this investigation. “Our investigators never stopped working this case. Their persistence and professionalism over the past four years are the reason this individual will now answer these charges in a Putnam County courtroom,” said Sheriff Hess.
