An illegal immigrant has been arrested on Martha's Vineyard and charged with multiple counts of child rape, just months after being released from prison on a strangulation charge. Federal officials.
The suspect, 24-year-old Brazilian national Warry Neto, was indicted by federal authorities in the upscale liberal district on Aug. 23 after being indicted earlier this year in Massachusetts on five counts of rape of a minor and five counts of enticement of a minor under the age of 16, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Authorities said Neto entered the United States illegally in March 2018 near Paso del Norte, Texas, but was later released from custody after being notified to appear before an immigration judge.
He was arrested by local police in Martha's Vineyard in February of last year on numerous charges, including strangulation, assault on a family member or cohabitant, and criminal threats, and was placed back under ICE custody.
Neto was sentenced to one year in prison after being convicted of the charges in June 2023, but was released after the Edgartown District Court suspended all but 90 days of his sentence, according to the federal government.
Just a few months later, he was rearrested and indicted on rape charges in Dukes County Superior Court, according to federal authorities.
Details of the attack allegedly carried out by Neto were not immediately available, including who he targeted, when and where it was carried out.
He had been held in Dukes County Jail since his arrest on rape charges in January, but was recently transferred to ICE custody after the Boston Office of Enforcement and Deportation issued an immigration detention order against him late last month.
It's unclear when Neto first arrived on Martha's Vineyard or whether he was among the migrants who flew with Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to the island in 2022.
“Wally Neto is alleged to have repeatedly assaulted children in Massachusetts and poses a significant threat to the safety of our communities,” said Todd M. Lyons, director of enforcement and exclusion efforts for the Boston field office.
“We appreciate the cooperation of the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office in prioritizing public safety and safely transferring custody of Neto to ERO.
“Too often, local governments do not honor immigration detention orders, releasing dangerous criminals back into society to commit crimes again. ERO Boston will continue to apprehend and remove the most egregious criminal aliens from New England.”
ERO is tasked with detaining and removing illegal immigrants from the United States, including on the orders of immigration judges from the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review.
The agency operates separately from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.
