Suspected rapist to appear in court

RENO -- A hearing is scheduled Oct. 9 for a Dayton man accused of raping a 14-year-old Carson City girl.

Michael Botelho, 42, was booked into the Washoe County Jail on Wednesday about 8 p.m. after being brought from Susanville, Calif., where he was arrested Tuesday night at a motel.

He is charged with three counts of sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping and battery with intent to commit sexual assault.

Botelho allegedly contacted the girl through a classified ad in a free-distributin paper offering her babysitting services.

According to police, he picked up the girl from her Carson City home on the pretense of having her watch his children, then drove her to a secluded area of Washoe Lake where he assaulted her for nearly an hour.

Following the assault, he allegedly dropped the girl off in her neighborhood and warned her to remain quiet. The girl reported the assault immediately.

According to Sgt. Dave Nikoley of the Washoe County Sheriff's Department, when Botelho learned her was being investigated, he fled his Dayton home, leaving his wife and two small children behind.

Nikoley said Botelho later picked up his wife and children and again fled the area.

He was arrested in Susanville when a local woman recognized him from a news broadcast and contacted Secret Witness.