Fond Du Lac sexual assault case shows failure of Biden’s open borders policy, says state lawmaker

The arrest of a man in Fond du Lac County who entered the country illegally in connection with a child sexual assault case shows that child sex trafficking is not only a problem in big cities and underscores the “ongoing dangers of Biden and the Democratic Party’s open border policies,” a Republican state representative said.

Rep. Jerry O’Connor (R-Fond du Lac) issued the following statement after the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest and revealed that the suspect, whose real name is not clear, had entered the country illegally across the U.S.-Mexico border.

“On Sunday afternoon, a member of the FDL community called the FDL County Sheriff’s Department to report that a 12-year-old girl had come to her door asking for help after escaping a man who had purchased her from her mother, bound her and blindfolded her before attempting to sexually assault her,” O’Connor wrote in a press release. “Miraculously, the girl was able to fight back and escape this horrific situation to find help. On Monday, FDL Sheriff’s officials arrested the child’s mother and the child’s male attacker.”

“This horrific situation underscores the fact that child sex trafficking occurs not only in big cities, but also in small towns here in Wisconsin. As chair of the Human Trafficking Task Force, we have investigated horrific situations like this across Wisconsin. We have worked to provide law enforcement and nonprofits with the resources they need to end the problem of human trafficking in our communities,” he noted.

“This tragic situation also underscores the ongoing dangers of Biden and the Democratic Party’s policy of keeping borders open. The male suspect had immigrated to the United States illegally from Nicaragua,” he wrote. “He was detained by the U.S. Border Patrol in 2021, only to be released under Biden’s ‘catch-and-release’ open border policy. Unless this administration is serious about upholding the law and securing our border, situations like this are likely to become more common.”

O’Connor continued, “We thank Sheriff Waldschmidt and the FDL County Sheriff’s Department for their efforts to help this young girl and combat child sex trafficking in our community.”

In an earlier press release, the Fond du Lac County Sheriff said the girl made a dramatic escape attempt in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, from the vehicle of a suspect who entered the United States illegally from Mexico three years ago and attempted to sexually assault her.

The girl “had just fled from a vehicle in the area where an adult male had been shackling and blindfolding her,” Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan F. Waldschmidt said in a news release. “Bravely, she was able to fight back, free herself from the suspect and the vehicle, and run to the house to get help.”

“It is alleged that the suspect paid the victim’s mother, whom he knew, money to spend time alone with the victim,” he wrote.

“Sheriff’s detectives have determined that the suspect in the attack is a 30 or 31 year old Nicaraguan man (legal identity has yet to be determined due to multiple aliases) who illegally entered the United States from Mexico through Texas in October 2021,” he wrote.

“At this time, he was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, processed at a federal facility, and released from custody with instructions to follow applicable federal immigration regulations,” the press release states. “Investigators are still working to determine the immigration status of the victim’s mother. She was also arrested on numerous offenses related to this incident, and both are currently in custody at the Fond du Lac County Jail. Additional arrests may occur once the remainder of the investigation is complete.”

According to Waldschmidt, on Sunday, May 19, 2024, at 12:12 a.m., Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office officers “were dispatched to a private residence in the rural town of Oakfield to report a sexual assault complaint. The caller was a local resident who reported that a 12-year-old girl had just shown up at his door asking for help.”

Due to the nature of the allegations, detectives were called in “to continue the investigation, which progressed rapidly over the next 40-plus hours,” the press release said.

“Investigators were able to determine the suspect’s identity and location and devised a tactical plan to apprehend him,” Waldschmidt wrote. “The Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, with assistance from the Fond du Lac Police Department SWAT team, executed a search warrant on a residence on Marquette Street in the City of Fond du Lac on Monday evening. During the SWAT operation, the suspect was ultimately arrested without incident.”

This investigation is complex and involves “numerous potentially serious crimes, including sexual abuse of a child, false imprisonment, child trafficking, failure to protect a child and others,” the sheriff wrote.

“The juvenile victim and her siblings were all safely taken into protective custody by Fond du Lac County Human Services,” the press release states. “Additional details on this case will be released in a criminal complaint when the suspects are charged. Until then, the Sheriff’s Office will not release any further information.