WEST TISBURY, MASS. (WHDH) - A convicted sex offender from Brazil was recently taken into custody on Martha’s Vineyard, officials announced.
The Boston field office of Enforcement and Removal Operations announced the arrest on Monday. The arrest, itself, happened on Nov. 14.
Officials in their statement said the 37-year-old undocumented man previously received multiple criminal convictions for raping a child but fled Brazil before his sentencing in May of 2019.
Officials said the man unlawfully entered the US “on an unknown date at an unknown location without being inspected or admitted by an immigration official.”
Several years after Brazilian authorities issued a warrant for his arrest, US officials said they learned of the man’s presence on Martha’s vineyard in late September.
Authorities ultimately took the man into custody during a vehicle stop, according to Monday’s Enforcement and Removal Operations announcement.
Enforcement and Removal Operations is part of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The man, who was not named in the announcement, is expected to remain in Enforcement and Removal Operations custody while awaiting removal proceedings before a federal immigration judge.
ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons discussed the case, in the meantime, saying in a statement “This undocumented Brazilian national represented a significant threat to the inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard.”
“He sexually assaulted a five-year-old child in his homeland and then ran from authorities when held accountable for his actions,” Lyons said. “ERO Boston will not allow such predators to threaten our residents.”
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