A 34-year-old Guatemalan national was arrested in Gloucester, Mass on February 21 who had been convicted of indecent assault and battery on a minor under 14. The man had been released by the Gloucester District Court despite the conviction and Enforcement and Removal Operations having filed an immigration detainer.
The illegal immigrant had also been convicted of a separate assault and battery offense and was ordered to register as a sex offender. The Gloucester District Court disregarded the ERO immigration detainer and released him anyway.
ERO issued a statement on the arrest.
“This individual represented a dire threat to the residents of Massachusetts,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons said. “Unlawfully present, convicted sex offenders should not be given the opportunity to re-offend. The victim of his crimes deserves better from our justice system. The men and women of ERO Boston will continue to protect our communities from such threats.”
The man had entered the US illegally in April 2011 and was not vetted by US immigration. “ERO Boston encountered the Guatemalan national at the Essex County House of Corrections and issued an immigration detainer against him with the detention facility following his arrest and detention in December 2023,” ICE reports.
The arrest was made without incident and his removal from the US is pending proceedings with a federal immigration judge.
This arrest comes amid a series of arrests of illegal immigrants in the US who have committed sexual offenses, assaults, and murder.