CALDWELL, Idaho — Jose Buenaventura Aguilera, 62, is charged with rape and lewd conduct with a minor under 16 in connection with a Caldwell cold case dating back to 2016.
The case broke open after the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (or SAKI) cold case team at Idaho State Police headquarters re-tested DNA evidence from a separate rape case from 2014.
WATCH | How ISP was able to connect one Caldwell man to multiple sexual assault cases—
According to court documents obtained by Idaho News 6, the victim in that case identified Aguilera in a photo lineup, and he admitted to having sex with her.
A routine database search in 2025 then concluded that DNA evidence from both rape cases matched.
Daren Boyd, a site coordinator with cold case investigators at ISP headquarters, said the work of keeping these cases open and active is critical.
"The important thing to remember is statistics have shown specifically within sex assault cases is that these aren't one-off cases," Boyd said.
Boyd said the cold case team works with local agencies to produce new leads.
"Something that we're like, hey, you might want to go back and look and talk to this witness or review this area that we think that there may be something here," Boyd said.
Boyd also mentioned how important it is, even during more pressing cases, that these are looked at.
"If these don't matter, then none of them matter. There's a victim behind all of these cases," Boyd added.
Tiffany Ruiz with Advocates Against Family Violence, a support organization in Caldwell, explained how sexual violence can affect every aspect of a person's life.
"It is a trauma that's unlike any other," Ruiz said.
Ruiz said delays in the justice process can have lasting effects on survivors.
"I mean, it impacts every single part of their life. And when you have a delay in justice, that can cause that to just stay in that sense of feeling unsafe and feeling unsure for a very long time," Ruiz said. "It takes away a very fundamental human right of being able to feel safe in your own body."
Aguilera remains held on $1 million bail following his July 14 arrest. He is expected to be arraigned in district court on August 10.
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