An Indian national convicted of child sex offenses, who was given light sentences, was arrested last month after being released from a Maryland detention center without warning to federal immigration authorities, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The 32-year-old man, whose identity remains undisclosed, was apprehended on March 20 near his residence in Ellicott City, located 38 miles north of Washington D.C.
ICE's acting field office director for Baltimore's Enforcement and Removal Operations, Matthew Elliston, emphasized the threat posed by the individual to the children in Maryland neighborhoods. Elliston stated, 'We cannot allow non-citizen sex offenders to roam freely in our community. ERO Baltimore will continue to prioritize public safety by apprehending the most severe non-citizen offenders.'
The man entered the U.S. on December 12, 2019, as a non-immigrant visitor through Dulles International Airport in Virginia. He was arrested by CBP officers on November 14, 2021, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York while attempting to board a flight to Doha, Qatar. The arrest was based on a warrant related to child sex offenses in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Following his arrest, the man was placed on sex offender parole by CBP until November 12, 2022, and then transferred to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department for extradition to Maryland. An immigration detainer was lodged against him by CBP with the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Brooklyn, New York.
Subsequently, he was taken into custody by the Montgomery County Police Department and charged with sex abuse of a minor and four counts of sex offense in the third degree. On February 15, 2022, the Howard County Police Department in Maryland also arrested him on charges of two counts of sex abuse of a minor and two counts of sex offense in the third degree.
Another detainer was reportedly placed on him at the Howard County Detention Center on February 16, 2022. In August of the same year, he was convicted by a Montgomery County court. The man received a 25-year prison sentence for the sex abuse of a minor charge, with all but 18 months suspended by the judge. Additionally, he was sentenced to 10 years for a charge of sex offense in the third degree, but the judge suspended the entire 10-year term.
