88-year-old sexual assault suspect extradited from Nigeria to Arizona

PHOENIX — An 88-year-old sexual assault suspect has been extradited from Nigeria back to Arizona, authorities said Tuesday.

The sexual assault allegations Alejandro Castellanos Tovar, a self-employed “healer,” will face in court date back to 2014, according to the Phoenix Police Department.

From January 2014 to May 2019, several women who visited his home for “healing” treatments reported that he inappropriately touched or sexually assaulted them, police said.

Tovar fled Arizona for Nigeria after hearing he was being investigated, police said. A warrant was issued for his arrest in late 2019 after investigators submitted the case for criminal charges.

What led to extradition of sexual assault suspect from Nigeria?

The Phoenix Police Department’s Adult Sex Crimes Unit worked alongside the U.S. Marshals Service to find him and coordinate his return to the U.S. However, international cooperation is what ultimately led to his return from overseas.

A 2025 partnership between U.S. authorities and Interpol in Nigeria led to Tovar’s eventual arrest and removal from the African country. Phoenix detectives received a notification on Dec. 22, 2025, saying Tovar was taken into custody and was on the way to the U.S., police said.

However, he didn’t land in Arizona. He was initially brought to the Loudoun Adult Detention Center in Leesburg, Va. He returned to Arizona on April 23. He was booked into the Maricopa County jail on various charges.

According to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office database of detainees, he was booked on 12 counts of sexual assault and 5 counts of sexual abuse, all of which have been bound over to Superior Court.

He is being held on a $1 million bond.

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