June 24, 2021 - The Madera County Sheriff's Office reports earlier this week, a judge ordered Carlos Bolanos, pictured, to serve two (2) sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole (LWOP) in addition to a consecutive 54 year 4 month sentence, after a jury convicted Bolanos of multiple sex crimes earlier this year.

This case was investigated by Madera County Sheriff’s Detectives Michael Thomas and Manuel Chavez in the spring of 2019 following the rape of a female juvenile.

The suspect in this case assumed a fake identity on Facebook to contact the victim, met under false pretenses, then subsequently kidnapped and raped her at various locations throughout Madera County.

Following a months long investigation, Bolanos was taken into custody by detectives. Details from the case can be found below.

Sheriff Tyson Pogue states, “We are very pleased with the outcome of this case. I would like to highlight the dedication our of detectives and commend their thorough investigation which allowed a jury to return a guilty verdict. Thank you to the Madera County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance and commitment to this case. Finally, we would like to thank the jurors who served on this trial for their service and integrity. Because of you, this predator has been eliminated from the streets of Madera County.”

---

BOL Bulletin Leads to Arrest in Madera Rape Investigation

In mid-April 2019, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office issued a public “BOLO” (Be On the Lookout) involving a dark colored late 90s or early 2000’s model Chevy Astro style van. This vehicle was involved in the rape of a teenage female in a rural area of Madera County which occurred on April 2nd.

The female juvenile victim was picked up in the City of Madera on the afternoon of April 2nd then driven to a rural area of the county after she was told by the suspect that she would be paid to sell fruit at a corner fruit stand allegedly in the area.

Once in the area, the male suspect told the victim that he had a gun and forced her to undress, after threatening to kill her and her family. The male suspect then assaulted the juvenile at three different locations in the area. Although the victim did not see a firearm on the male suspect or around the vehicle, she did see a machete on the floor of the vehicle.

The victim provided a physical description of her attacker during a subsequent interview with MCSO Detectives, describing him as a large, dark complected, Hispanic male in his 20’s, with a shaved head and no facial hair. At the time of the assault, the male suspect was wearing khaki pants, black boots and a red shirt with small blue lettering over the right chest area.

Following the publication of the BOLO, Madera County Sheriff’s Detectives received numerous tips regarding possible sightings of the van depicted in the photo. During the course of the investigation, Detectives discovered several credible leads to possible additional victims, as well as a potential suspect identity.