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September 25, 2023Baltimore, MD, United StatesEnforcement and Removal

ERO Baltimore arrests Honduran national convicted of 9 sex offenses against Rhode Island minor

ERO Baltimore arrests Honduran national convicted of 9 sex offenses against Rhode Island minor ERO Baltimore arrests Honduran national convicted of 9 sex offenses against Rhode Island minor ERO Baltimore arrests Honduran national convicted of 9 sex offenses against Rhode Island minor

BALTIMORE — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore apprehended an undocumented noncitizen convicted of four counts of first-degree child molestation and five counts of second-degree child molestation against a Rhode Island minor. Deportation officers from ERO Baltimore’s Criminal Apprehensions Program arrested the 49-year-old Honduran national near his residence in Columbia on Sept. 18.

“This undocumented sex offender has been convicted of nine different counts of sexual abuses against a minor,” said ERO Baltimore acting Field Office Director Darius Reeves. “He displayed a blatant disregard for our laws by reentering the U.S. after having been previously removed. It would be irresponsible of us to allow any noncitizen who posed such a threat to the children of our neighborhoods to walk the streets of Maryland. While some local governments do not allow their law enforcement agencies to honor ICE detainers on such criminals, ERO Baltimore will continue to enforce our nation’s immigration laws in our communities in order to ensure the safety of our residents.”

The undocumented noncitizen unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date at an unknown location without being inspected, admitted or paroled by an immigration official.

The Providence Police Department arrested and charged the Honduran national with simple assault, four counts of first-degree child molestation, and 10 counts of second-degree child molestation in February 2001.

The Providence Superior Court in Providence, Rhode Island, convicted the Honduran noncitizen of four counts of first-degree child molestation and five counts of second-degree child molestation in November 2002. The court sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment with 15 years suspended and 15 years of supervised probation.

In April 2005, ERO Boston arrested and served the undocumented noncitizen with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge in Boston who ordered the noncitizen sex offender removed to Honduras in May 2005. ERO New Orleans removed him from the United States to Honduras in June 2005.

The undocumented sex offender again reentered the United States on an unknown date at an unknown location without being inspected, admitted or paroled by an immigration official.

The Howard County Police Department arrested and charged the Honduran national for driving, attempting to drive a motor vehicle on highway without required license and authorization June 19, 2023, in Howard County.

The next day, the Pacific Enforcement Response Center lodged an immigration detainer against the noncitizen sex offender with the Howard County Department of Corrections. The Howard County Department of Corrections refused to honor the detainer and released the noncitizen Aug. 8, 2023.

ERO Baltimore arrested the noncitizen sex offender Sept. 18 near his residence in Columbia and served him a notice of its intention to reinstate the 2005 removal order against him as a noncitizen previously removed. The Honduran noncitizen will remain in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody pending removal.

ERO conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR is a separate entity from DHS and ICE. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal.

As one of ICE’s three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.

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