25 foreigners suspected of *** crimes arrested in LA area
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - A three-day sting operation targeting foreign nationals who
prey on children has resulted in 25 arrests in the Los Angeles area,
federal
authorities said.
All of the suspects have prior convictions for *** offenses, and four of
them have previously been de****ted from the country, U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement officials announced Thursday.
Eleven of the suspects were found to be living in the country illegally.
The
other 14 were legal permanent residents but face de****tation for their
criminal convictions.
"These pedophiles pose a serious threat to the well-being of our children,
our families and our communities," said Robert Schoch, special
agent-in-charge for the ICE office of investigations in Los Angeles, said
in
a statement. "We can not only take them off the streets, but we can seek
to
have them sent out of the country."
Among those arrested was Jose Angel Pakas-Murcia, 46, a Honduran national
who was de****ted in 1995 after serving time for ***ually assaulting a
9-year-old girl in Florida. He faces prosecution for re-entering the
United
States after de****tation - a felony that carries up to 20 years in prison.
Gabino Chavez-Rosales, a 43-year-old Mexican national with a prior
conviction for lewd acts with a minor, also was arrested on suspicion of
attempting to kidnap a girl playing in a laundromat parking lot. The
Glendale resident faces de****tation.
Also taken into custody was Jose Luis Rodriguez-Lucatero, 41, who entered
the country illegally from Mexico after his conviction for the attempted
rape of a 15-year-old girl.
The arrests are the latest to be announced as part of Operation Predator.
Since July 2003, the program has led to the arrest of more than 8,200 ***
offenders nationwide, including 1,100 in the Los Angeles area.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/15359365.htm
Dozens of Illegal Alien *** Offenders Captured; Over 8,200 Total
Jim Kouri, CPP
August 31, 2006
A Mexican national convicted of repeatedly ***ually assaulting a
nine-year-old girl over a period of two years is among the 40 criminal
aliens arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents here during
the past four months as part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE
initiative targeting those who prey upon and ***ually exploit children.
The most recent arrests occurred Tuesday as ICE agents took seven
additional
criminal alien *** offenders into custody. ICE was assisted in the
operation by the Salinas, CA Police Department ***ual Assault Unit, the
California Department of Corrections Parole Division, and the Monterey
County Adult Probation Office.
Those arrested during Tuesday's enforcement action include Antonio Cruz, a
43-year-old Mexican national who was convicted in Salinas in 1990 of
***ually molesting a four-year-old child. Previous targets included
Francisco Prado, 46, a legal permanent resident from Mexico who was taken
into custody by ICE agents in May based upon his conviction for repeatedly
molesting a nine-year-old girl.
This week's arrests cap a joint effort involving ICE and its local
enforcement partners to target foreign nationals in the Salinas area whose
criminal convictions for child *** offenses make them potentially
de****table
from the United States.
One of the subjects arrested during the multi-agency operation is being
prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for re-entering the
United
States after de****tation, a felony charge that carries a maximum sentence
of
20 years in prison. Jesus Salgado-Lopez, 34, was arrested by ICE agents
in
June. The Mexican national has been de****ted five previous times.
The cases of the remaining *** offenders, the majority of whom are from
Mexico, are being handled administratively. Some of the aliens, because
of
their illegal immigration status and prior criminal convictions, can be
immediately removed from the United States. Others are legal permanent
residents who are entitled to a de****tation hearing before an immigration
judge.
"Pedophiles pose a serious threat to the well-being of our children, our
families, and our communities," said Charles DeMore, special
agent-in-charge
for the ICE office of investigations in San Francisco, which oversees the
agency's Salinas office as well.
"We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to
target those who prey on the children of this community. In the case of
foreign nationals who commit predatory offenses, we can not only take them
off of the streets, but we can seek to have them sent out of the country."
"Operation Predator has been and continues to be a very worthwhile
collaboration between federal and local law enforcement," said Cassie
McSorley, Deputy Chief of the Salinas Police Department.
"The arrest and removal of these 40 criminal alien *** offenders from
Salinas since May of 2006 has made this community a safer place for it's
residents and their children. Working in conjunction with ICE has
increased
the Salinas Police Department's resources with which we are able to deal
with these types of criminals."
Since ICE launched Operation Predator in July of 2003, the agency has
arrested more than 8,200 *** offenders nationwide. More than 2,000 of
those
arrests were made by ICE agents in California.
Operation Predator is part of ICE's expanded interior immigration
enforcement strategy, which focuses on identifying and removing criminal
aliens, immigration fugitives, and other immigration violators from the
United States. The agency's top priority is arresting and removing
foreign
nationals who pose a threat to public safety or national security.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=13059
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