US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Boston announced on Wednesday the arrests of two illegal immigrants who have been charged with forcibly raping children in Massachusetts, as well as a third individual who was convicted of raping a child in Brazil, and was hiding in the US after being caught and released at the US border in 2022.
The arrests come after Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said her state would not cooperate with President-elect Trump’s federal immigration enforcement efforts once he returns to the Oval Office in January.
ICE said one of the suspects, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was arrested for forcible rape of a child, but was released in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, by authorities, who ignored a detainer request made by the federal agency to hold or transfer him to federal custody.
The suspect, 21-year-old Mynor Stiven De Paz-Munoz, entered the US on Sept. 24, 2020, near Eagle Pass, Texas, and was released by US Border Patrol with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice (DOJ) Executive Office of Immigration Review Judge.
He was later arrested in western Massachusetts by Great Barrington police on Feb. 29, 2024, for rape of a child by force, rape of a child, and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston lodged a detainer with the police department, but it was ignored, and De Paz-Munoz was released on bail before ERO Boston officers could take him into custody.
He has since been charged by the Berkshire County Superior Court with the crimes, which are still pending, and he remains in custody.
“Mynor Stiven De Paz-Munoz stands accused of horrifically victimizing a Massachusetts child and represents a significant threat to our neighborhoods,” acting ERO Boston Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde said. “We owe it to the children of our New England communities to prioritize public safety above everything else.”
The second suspect, 42-year-old Billy Erney Buitrago-Bustos of Colombia, was arrested by Great Barrington police on Oct. 8, 2023, for allegedly raping a child by force, statutory rape and aggravated rape.
Buitrago-Gusto was admitted into the US on May 4, 2016, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, though he failed to leave under the terms of his visa.
After his arrest in October 2023, ERO Boston lodged an immigration arrest with the Great Barrington Police Department.
Later that month, Buitrago-Gusto was arraigned in the Southern Berkshire District Court and held without bail.
The charges were elevated to the Berkshire County Superior Court on March 18, which honored the immigration detainer and released him into custody of ERO Boston on Nov. 15, after he posted bail.
“Billy Erney Buitrago-Bustos stands accused of the most heinous and reprehensible of 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 were appointed to serve.”
The third suspect, 41-year-old Alexandre Romao De Oliveira, is a foreign fugitive convicted of raping a child in Brazil.
He was convicted in the First Criminal Court of Jaru, Rondônia, Brazil, on Feb. 10, 2022, and sentenced to serve 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 US near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, without admission by an immigration official, and was released from custody after being served a notice to appear before a DOJ immigration review judge.
ICE Boston arrested Romao De Oliveira on Monday in the northern Massachusetts city of Methuen.
“Alexandre Romao De Oliveira is a convicted child rapist who fled his home country to evade justice,” Hyde said. “Enhancing public safety starts with cooperation between law enforcement partners. Bringing this fugitive to justice is a direct result of the collaboration between ERO Boston, the ICE attaché offices around the globe, and our foreign law enforcement counterparts.”