Guatemalan served just 190 days for rape conviction before being freed again
A Guatemalan teen who has been released into American communities multiple times despite being in the U.S. illegally has been apprehended after serving just 190 days for rape, authorities say.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the arrest of Henry Argueta-Tobar, 19, last week in Maryland.
Argueta-Tobar was on the loose after a brief stint in prison for second-degree rape.
In 2019, the Guatemalan was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol after he illegally crossed the southern border near El Paso, Texas, as an ‘accompanied minor.’
Argueta-Tobar was served with a notice to appear before a federal immigration judge in the future, transferred to ICE custody, and quickly released into the interior.
On December 22, 2023, Argueta-Tobar was arrested and charged with second-degree rape in Charles County, MD.
ICE lodged a detainer against the Guatemalan with the Charles County Detention Center, but officials ignored the request and released him on an unknown date.
On February 12, 2024, Argueta-Tobar was ordered deported by a Department of Justice immigration judge in Baltimore, but it is unclear if he was at the hearing.
“On July 3, the Circuit Court for Charles County convicted Argueta of rape in the second degree and sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment followed by five years of supervised probation. The court then suspended all but 190 days of the prison sentence,” ICE explained in a press release.
Argueta-Tobar was arrested by ICE Fugitive Operations officers on August 14 in Waldorf, MD.
@EROBaltimore arrests Guatemalan national convicted of rape in Maryland.
Link: https://t.co/JRIWepLURY pic.twitter.com/3UJ33JI04x— ERO Baltimore (@EROBaltimore) August 15, 2024
“After unlawfully entering our country, Henry Argueta-Tobar made his way to Maryland and victimized one of our residents,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Baltimore acting Deputy Field Office Director Vernon Liggins said in a statement.
“We could not allow him to continue to threaten our communities.
Authorities continue to catch dangerous foreign criminals illegally present in the U.S., many of whom have been previously released into the country by law enforcement agencies.
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