Illegal Alien Accused of Rape, Child Sex Crimes Released by Sanctuary County in North Carolina
North Carolina’s largest sanctuary county released a previously deported illegal alien accused of rape and child sex crimes, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency reveals.
Oscar Pacheco-Leonardo, a 33-year-old illegal alien from Honduras, was arrested almost two months ago by the Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Sheriff’s Office for first-degree rape and child sex crimes. After his arrest, ICE officials said they placed a detainer on Pacheco-Leonardo, requesting that he be turned over to the agency before being released from local custody.
Mecklenburg’s sanctuary county policy, however, ensured that the sheriff’s office release the illegal alien from their custody, allowing him to run free for nearly two months before being arrested ICE agents.
On June 14, Pacheco-Leonardo was arrested by Mecklenburg County police for one count of first-degree rape and two counts of indecent liberties with a child. The following day, ICE placed a detainer on the illegal alien. Rather than handing him over to ICE, Mecklenburg police released Pacheco-Leonardo on June 16.
Pacheco-Leonardo had already been deported from the U.S. in July 2006. Sometime after this date, the illegal alien re-entered the county through the southern border — a felony under federal law.
“The Mecklenburg County sheriff’s decision to restrict cooperation with ICE serves as an open invitation to aliens who commit criminal offenses, that Mecklenburg County is a safe haven for persons seeking to evade federal authorities, and residents of Mecklenburg County are less safe today than last year due to these policies,” ICE official Sean Gallagher said in a statement.
Over the past nine months, ICE detailed a list of more than 20 illegal aliens who were recently arrested by Mecklenburg County police and released back into the local community despite having an ICE detainer lodged against them.
Those illegal aliens released by Mecklenburg County this year include:
- A 31-year-old citizen of Honduras, who was previously removed by ICE in June 2009, was arrested by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office in February 2019 for sex offenses and booked into the Mecklenburg County Jail in Charlotte, NC. In February 2019, ICE ERO issued a detainer, but the detainer was not honored, and he was released in February 2019. In March 2019, he was arrested at-large in Charlotte, NC, and is currently detained in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.