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Reward being offered for info leading to arrest of man wanted in murder, rape of 13-month-old

Reward being offered for info leading to arrest of man wanted in murder, rape of 13-month-old
Posted at 5:25 AM, Oct 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-17 06:33:22-04

A reward is now being offered as authorities search for a man accused of killing and raping a 13-month-old in northeast Ohio.

Authorities said they filed aggravated murder and rape charges against 37-year-old Joshua Gurto in the death of Sereniti Sutley. Gurto was identified as the boyfriend of the child's mother, according to our sister station News5Cleveland.

An arrest warrant was issued for Gurto and police said he fled the area and has not been located.

On October 7, police responded to a call about an unresponsive child at an apartment complex in Conneaut, roughly 70 miles northeast of Cleveland. According to police, the call came in around 5:16 a.m.

News5Cleveland reports that when police arrived, the mother was holding the child and screaming, "help my baby."  

According to the coroner's office, the 13-month-old child was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. 

The Ashtabula County Coroner says the child had blunt-force injuries to her head and body.

The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to Gurto's arrest, according to WFMJ.

Gurto is described as a white male, standing approximately 5-feet-10-inches tall and weighing approximately 145 pounds. He has a misaligned jaw, a deformed right ear, and tattoos on his right forearm.

Anyone with information on Gurto’s whereabouts is asked to call the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 866-4WANTED or text keyword WANTED and the information to 84711.

Follow Mary Stringini on Twitter.