Local authorities in Massachusetts allowed an illegal migrant accused of raping a pre-teen child to walk free on bail — and never called immigration authorities, according to a shocking report from ICE.
Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, 28, was charged on July 26 on the wealthy island of Nantucket with one count of rape of a child with a 10-year age difference and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, authorities said.
Three days later, he was released on bail by Nantucket District Court.
ICE officers ultimately arrested Aldana-Arevalo on Sept. 10 after tracking him down.
He is currently in federal custody awaiting his day in immigration court.
ICE Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons called Aldana-Arevalo’s alleged crimes both “detestable and disturbing.”
“He represents a significant danger to the children of our Massachusetts communities. ERO [ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations] Boston will not tolerate such a threat to the most vulnerable of our population. We will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our New England neighborhoods,” said Lyons.
Aldana-Arevalo made his way to the island of Nantucket after sneaking into the US from El Salvador.
The number of migrants who have evaded apprehension by Border agents – often referred to as “gotaways” – has skyrocketed under the Biden-Harris administration.
More than 1.7 million migrant gotaways are known to have entered during this administration, but more likely came across without sensors alerting border authorities.
Nantucket is not explicitly a “sanctuary” jurisdiction — but like most places in Massachusetts, local officials typically do not report migrants accused of crimes to immigration authorities.
And this is not the first time migrants accused have been released into the community after facing charges of sexual violence.
It happened earlier this month in the upmarket liberal enclave of Martha’s Vineyard.
ICE was able to arrest Brazilian national Warley Neto, 24, but it wasn’t until after he was later indicted on five counts of raping a Massachusetts minor and five counts of enticing a minor under 16 earlier this year, according to agency officials.
In early September, ICE officers arrested migrant “gotaway” Jorge Luis Castro-Alvarado, 28, who was charged with rape in Lynn, Massachusetts just a month earlier.
ICE had lodged a detainer for the Guatemalan national’s arrest on Feb. 9 under a separate charge of assault and battery on a family or household member.
Castro-Alvarado was convicted by the Lynn District Court and sentenced to 18 months in prison, which was shortened to six months.
He was then arraigned in April for two counts of rape, and indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years old – but he was let go on bail without ICE knowing.
ICE eventually hunted him down and caught him in September.
Haitian national Cory Alvarez, 26, was arrested by ICE in August on charges for raping a 15-year-old girl at a Massachusetts migrant shelter.
He was first admitted into the US last year through the Biden-Harris administration’s signature migrant flight parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.
Months later, he allegedly went on to rape the child, but he was released on $500 bail in March without local authorities notifying ICE.