MILFORD - A cousin of murder victim Jose de Lima was arrested Wednesday for the alleged statutory rape of a 13-year-old Milford girl, a crime uncovered by investigators probing the killing, police said.
Celio Teixeira Durval, 21, of 41 Water St., Apt. 3, was arrested at his home around 5 p.m. and charged with three counts of statutory rape of a child, police said.
Police have no information that suggests the two crimes are related, Milford Police Chief Thomas O'Loughlin said.
"I don't think there's a connection," the chief said yesterday. "There's nothing there to indicate for us to believe that."
Durval has apparently moved since de Lima's Jan. 29 murder, but he lived with him and his three other cousins at the time of the homicide, according to O'Loughlin. Durval was home when de Lima was gunned down in the doorway of their 20 Main St. apartment, the chief said.
No suspects have yet been arrested in connection with the Brazilian immigrant's killing.
Durval was held yesterday on $50,000 bail, O'Loughlin said.
He faces three charges because he allegedly committed statutory rape in three separate incidents, the chief said. The alleged victim knew Durval, according to O'Loughlin.
"Basically, it's a relationship with a teenager," he said.
O'Loughlin declined to release other details, such as where the alleged rape occurred.
Gilmer Fernandes Sales, another one of de Lima's cousins, said previously that two men came to his apartment the night of the murder, asking for a man named "Sergio."
De Lima came to the door to see what was going on, and one of the men shot him, Sales said last month.
The victim's sister, Vania de Paula, also has said her brother had no enemies and the murder must have been a case of mistaken identity.
Investigators are still searching for two Hispanic males suspected in the killing, one of whom is taller than the other, O'Loughlin said.
Two Milford detectives were working the case yesterday with an investigator from Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early's office, he said.
Police recently released flyers in both English and Portuguese, asking anyone with information on the case to come forward and received tips as a result, said Detective Sgt. Kenneth Kingkade.
Investigators are sorting out what leads are legitimate and which are rumors, O'Loughlin said.
"It's clearly not cold," he said of the investigation. "Is it a case (where) investigators are working and following different avenues? Yes."
The case has required police to rely on multilingual staff, like Officer Carlos Sousa and dispatcher Tony Dennis, to talk with non-English speaking people involved, O'Loughlin said
