U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Boston on Wednesday announced the arrest of two undocumented immigrants charged with forcible rape of children in Massachusetts, as well as a third person who was convicted of raping a child in Brazil and was hiding in the United States. United States after his arrest and release at the US border in 2022.
The arrests come after Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said her state would not cooperate with President-elect Trump's efforts to enforce federal immigration laws once he returns to the Oval Office in January.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said one of the suspects, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was arrested on charges of forcible rape of a child, but was released by authorities in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, who ignored a detention request by the federal agency to detain him or transfer him to the United States. Federal custody.
The suspect, Minor Steven De Paz Munoz, age 21, entered the United States on September 24, 2020, near Eagle Pass, Texas, and was released by the U.S. Border Patrol with a Notice to Appear before the Department of Justice (DOJ). ) Executive Office of the Immigration Review Judge.
He was later arrested in western Massachusetts by Great Barrington Police on February 29, 2024, on charges of forcible rape of a child, rape of a child, and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years of age or older.
ICE Boston Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) brought a detainer to the police department, but he was ignored, and De Paz-Munoz was released on bail before ERO Boston officers could take him into custody.
He has since been charged in Berkshire County Superior Court with the crimes, which remain pending, and he remains in custody.
“Minor Steven De Paz Munoz is accused of horrific child abuse from Massachusetts and represents a significant threat to our neighborhoods,” said Patricia H. Hyde, acting director of ERO's Boston Field Office. “We owe it to the children of our New England communities to prioritize public safety above all else.”
Great Barrington Police arrested a second suspect, 42-year-old Billy Ernie Buitrago Bustos of Colombia, on October 8, 2023, for alleged forcible rape of a child, statutory rape, and aggravated rape.
Buitrago-Gusto was admitted to the United States on May 4, 2016, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, although he failed to depart under the terms of his visa.
Following his arrest in October 2023, ERO Boston served an immigration arrest warrant with the Great Barrington Police Department.
Later that month, Buitrago Gusto was arraigned in Southern Berkshire District Court and held without bail.
The charges were filed in Berkshire County Superior Court on March 18, which honored the immigration detainer and released him into ERO Boston custody on November 15, after he posted bail.
“Billy Ernie Buitrago Bustos is accused of committing the most heinous and reprehensible crimes,” Hyde said. “We thank our law enforcement partners at the Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction for prioritizing public safety and protecting children in the communities they are assigned to serve.”
The third suspect, Alexandre Romao de Oliveira, 41 years old, is a foreign fugitive convicted of raping a child in Brazil.
He was found guilty in the First Criminal Court of Jaro, Rondônia, Brazil, on February 10, 2022, and sentenced to 14 years behind bars.
But according to ICE, Romao de Oliveira fled Brazil before he could serve his sentence.
On April 16, 2022, Romao de Oliveira entered the United States near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, without the approval of an immigration official, and was released from custody after receiving a notice to appear before a Department of Justice Immigration Review Judge.
Romao de Oliveira was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Boston on Monday in the northern Massachusetts city of Methuen.
“Alexandre Romao de Oliveira is a convicted child rapist who fled his homeland to escape justice,” Hyde said. “Enhancing public safety starts with collaboration between law enforcement partners. Bringing this fugitive to justice is a direct result of collaboration between ERO Boston, ICE attached offices around the world, and our foreign law enforcement counterparts.
