3 illegal immigrants arrested in Boston for child rape

Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey previously said her state wouldn’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts and mass deportation plans once President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January.

According to ICE, one of the suspects, 21-year-old Mynor Stiven De Paz-Munoz, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was arrested for the forcible rape of a child. However, law enforcement in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, ignored a detainer request made by the federal agency and released him.

ICE said in a statement that on Sept. 24, 2020, he entered the US, near Eagle Pass, Texas, and was released by the US Border Patrol with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice (DOJ) Executive Office of Immigration Review Judge.

On Feb. 29, 2024, De Paz-Munoz was arrested in western Massachusetts by Great Barrington police, for rape of a child by force, rape of a child, and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older, but again the police ignored an Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) detainer and he was released on bail.

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 is now back in custody after having been charged by the Berkshire County Superior Court with the crimes. Acting ERO Boston Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde said, "Mynor Stiven De Paz-Munoz stands accused of horrifically victimizing a Massachusetts child and represents a significant threat to our neighborhoods. We owe it to the children of our New England communities to prioritize public safety above everything else."

On Oct. 8, 2023, 42-year-old Billy Erney Buitrago-Bustos of Colombia, was arrested by Great Barrington police for allegedly raping a child by force, statutory rape, and aggravated rape. He entered the US on May 4, 2016, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, but failed to leave under the terms of his visa.

After his arrest, ERO Boston filed an immigration arrest with the Great Barrington Police Department. After he 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 the custody of ERO Boston on Nov. 15.

41-year-old Alexandre Romao De Oliveira is a fugitive from Brazil who was convicted on Feb. 10, 2022, by the First Criminal Court of Jaru, Rondônia, of raping a child in Brazil and was sentenced to serve 14 years behind bars.

However, he fled the country before he could serve his sentence and entered the US on April 16, 2022, near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, without admission by an immigration official. He was released from custody after being served a notice to appear before a DOJ immigration review judge.