U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Boston announced on Wednesday that two undocumented immigrants charged with forcibly raping a child in Massachusetts and another convicted of raping a child in Brazil are hiding in prison. announced the arrest of a third person. After being arrested and released at the US border in 2022, the United States.
The arrests came after Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said her state would not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts in her state after President-elect Trump returns to the Oval Office in January.
According to ICE, one of the suspects, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was arrested on suspicion of forcible rape of a child, but was released in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, after authorities ignored requests by federal authorities to detain or remove him. announced. Federal Custody.
The suspect, 21-year-old Mainor Steven de Paz-Muñoz, entered the United States near Eagle Pass, Texas, on September 24, 2020, and was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol with a notice of citation to the Department of Justice (Department of Justice). was released by. ) Office of the Immigration Review Judge.
He was subsequently arrested by Great Barrington Police in Western Massachusetts on February 29, 2024, on charges of rape of a child by force, rape of a child, and indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforced Removal Operations (ERO) Boston filed a motion to detain him at the police station, but it was ignored, and Mr. de Pasmuñoz was released on bail before ERO Boston officers took him into custody.
He was subsequently indicted on the charges in Berkshire County Superior Court, where his case is pending and he remains in custody.
“Mainor Steven de Paz-Muñoz is accused of brutally murdering a child in Massachusetts and poses a serious threat to our neighborhoods,” said Patricia ERO, Acting Director of the Boston Field Office. Mr. H. Hyde said. “We have a duty to the children of New England communities to put public safety above all else.”
The second suspect, Billy Ernie Buitrago-Bustos, 42, of Columbia, was arrested by Great Barrington Police on October 8, 2023. forcefully rape a childstatutory rape and aggravated rape.
Mr. Buitragogst was allowed to enter the United States at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on May 4, 2016, but was unable to leave the country under the terms of his visa.
After his arrest in October 2023, ERO Boston filed a challenge. immigration arrest Great Barrington Police Department.
Later that month, Buitragogst was arraigned in Southern Berkshire District Court and held without bail.
The charges were transferred to Berkshire County Superior Court on March 18th, which honored the immigration judge, and after posting bail, he was released into the custody of ERO Boston on November 15th.
“Billy Ernie Buitrago Bustos is accused of the most heinous and reprehensible crime,” Hyde said. “We would like to thank our law enforcement partners at the Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction for prioritizing public safety and protecting the children in the communities they are entrusted with.”
The third suspect, 41-year-old Alexandre Romao de Oliveira, is a foreign fugitive convicted of raping a child in Brazil.
He was convicted on February 10, 2022 at the First Criminal Court in Jar, Rondônia, Brazil, and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
But ICE said Romao de Oliveira fled Brazil before completing his sentence.
On April 16, 2022, Romao de Oliveira entered the United States near Santa Teresa, New Mexico without permission from an immigration official and after receiving a notice to appear before an immigration judge at the Department of Justice. , released from custody.
ICE Boston arrested Romao de Oliveira on Monday in the northern Massachusetts city of Methuen.
“Alexandre Romao de Oliveira is a convicted child rapist who fled his home country to escape justice,” Hyde said. “Strengthening public safety begins with cooperation among law enforcement partners. Bringing this fugitive to justice is a collaborative effort between ERO Boston, ICE attaché offices around the world, and our foreign law enforcement agencies. It is a direct result of
