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December 7, 2023Boston, MA, United StatesEnforcement and Removal

ERO Boston arrests fugitive wanted for rape conviction in Brazil

ERO Boston arrests fugitive wanted for rape conviction in Brazil

BOSTON — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested a fugitive convicted and sentenced to prison for rape in Brazil in Malden on Dec. 5. The Brazilian native, who unlawfully entered the United States in May 2018, has been sought by Brazilian authorities since March 2019.

“ERO Boston is committed to protecting our communities. Convicted rapists who are unlawfully present here will be arrested and removed from the country,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “ERO Boston remains strong in the fight to apprehend foreign fugitives who try to evade justice in their native countries. They cannot and will not be allowed to remain in our communities. ERO Boston is committed to finding them and removing them. We won’t stop pursuing this central part of our mission.”

The 43-year-old Brazilian national unlawfully entered the United States in Hidalgo, Texas, in May 2018, was detained, issued a notice to appear at a future immigration hearing, and placed into removal proceedings by U.S. Border Patrol. He was subsequently granted a release on bond by an immigration judge in June 2018.

Since March 2019, a criminal court in the city of Resplendor, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, has been seeking custody of the Brazilian national to serve an eight-year prison sentence on a felony charge of aggravated rape in Brazil that he was convicted of by that court.

After ERO Boston confirmed the fugitive’s possible presence in its area of responsibility through standard law enforcement procedures, officers with ERO Boston’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit arrested him without incident.

He will remain in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) custody pending an upcoming hearing before an immigration judge with the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. ERO Boston will seek his removal from the United States.

In fiscal year 2022, ERO arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories. This group had 198,498 associated charges and convictions, including 21,531 assault offenses; 8,164 sex and sexual assault offenses; 5,554 weapons offenses; 1,501 homicide-related offenses; and 1,114 kidnapping offenses.

As one of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’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 the 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.

Members of the public can report crime and suspicious activity by calling 866-347-2423 or completing the online tip form.

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