BOSTON, Mass. (WPRI) — A Guatemalan man who was illegally in the United States was arrested earlier this month for charges involving sexual assault with minors in Rhode Island, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Providence police arrested the man in March of 2023 with charges of felony child molestation, but he was released the next month after ICE said the R.I. Department of Corrections ignored its immigration detainer notice
Officials don’t know when the man entered the United States unlawfully, but ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division says he was not inspected, admitted or paroled by an immigration official.
“This Guatemalan national has disregarded U.S. immigration laws and has been charged with horrific crimes against a Rhode Island child,” said Todd Lyons, director of ERO’s Boston field office. “We will continue to apprehend and remove egregious offenders who prey on the most vulnerable in our society.”
ICE said the man remains in its custody while he awaits a federal immigration judge with the U.S. Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.