The former Mariland priest, now in jail for child abuse, is deported to Columbia after federal officials convicted a predator for lying to his immigration documents to obtain US citizenship.
Colombian immigrant Jorge Antonio Veres Lopez is launched into his home country after a federal judge in Louisiana is declared to him for passport fraud. According to the US Lawyer's Office for the Western Region of Louisiana.
Prosecutors said the fraudster was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in May 2013 after repeatedly misinforming immigrant staff who repeatedly misled the crimes that he had never committed “he had not been arrested.”
Authorities later learned that she sexually abused a teenage girl from 2005 to 2009 and served as a priest in the resurrection of our diocese of Laurel.
“The U.S. Department of Justice, ICE and other federal law enforcement partners will use all the tools in our arsenal to protect children and seek prosecution and deportation of those who misappropriately acquire US citizenship.”
Veres Lopez arrived in the United States in 2003 as a temporary religious worker, was approved as a permanent resident in 2007, and filed an application for fraud in March 2013, prosecutors said.
He again lied to USCIS officials two months later, and in an interview he verbally confirmed and later vowed under oath.
While working for the Maryland Parish of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Berez Lopez was accused of sexually abusing a young victim who reported abuse in 2016. According to WMAR.
The former clergyman was arrested for a disease crime in February 2020 after moving to the Archdiocese of Alexandria, Louisiana, the outlet reported.
Berez Lopez, who now serves the state sentence at Jessup Correctional Facility in Maryland, has been sentenced to 12 months in the year of federal charges and supervised release, prosecutors said.
He completes both sentences and is then transferred to ice custody.
“This case sends a clear message to any type of sexual offence, especially the individuals who commit any persons involving the child during the naturalization process. It ensures that justice is done.”
“The Department of Justice Immigration Litigation Office will continue to retain individuals responsible for sexual offences, particularly those involving child victims.”
If you are living in New York after being sexually assaulted, you can call 1-800-942-6906 for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live out of state, you can dial the 24/7 National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
