LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The former owner of a Lexington restaurant indicted for rape entered a not-guilty plea on Friday, but will be allowed to return to work.
Jesus Banuelos Valdes, 59, faces 17 counts of third-degree rape, four counts of third-degree sodomy and a count of third-degree unlawful transaction with a minor.
A motion was granted allowing Valdes to return to work, with the stipulation that no female minors are employed there or allowed in the building.
The court was told that the restaurant is drive-thru only and no customers will be in the building.
Valdes is only allowed to go to work, his residence or his attorney’s office.
He was arrested and also pleaded not guilty in April.
According to a criminal complaint, a 17-year-old girl told her mother that Valdes, her employer, allegedly sexually assaulted her multiple times between July 2025 and February 2026—a log kept by the girl listed 21 separate incidents of assault.
On Thursday, detectives arrested 59-year-old Marcos Jesus Banuelos Valdes.(Fayette County Detention Center)
Valdes was listed as the owner of Papi’s Mexican Restaurant. Still, a social media post tied to the eatery later said he was a partial owner of two locations and was no longer associated with the business.
Those two locations have since reopened under a new name and incorporator.
Valdes bonded out of the Fayette County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond in April.
He will next be in court on October 23 for a status hearing.
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