Illegal immigrant charged with sexual abuse of 14-year-old girl

A man from Guatemala who entered the United States illegally after being deported was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.

Jose Chan, 24, was arrested last week by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, Fox 25 reported. Authorities arrested Chan and held him in the Okaloosa County Jail until he could be picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Thursday that the incident involving the girl occurred at her home on February 25, 2023. The girl told family members about the abuse and was subsequently taken to HCA Destin-Fort Walton Beach Hospital.

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“A medical examination of the victim returned a positive result for sexual abuse,” the statement said. “Laboratory results from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement also found evidence of the girl’s DNA on Chan, via cheek swabs taken by the defendant.”

The sheriff’s office investigated and charged Chan with sexually abusing the girl. According to the sheriff’s office, the FBI helped confirm the man’s identity because he had already been deported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on February 9.

The alleged attack came amid ongoing concerns about the Biden administration’s border policies, which have allowed tens of millions of people to enter the country illegally. Some illegal immigrants have committed serious crimes against U.S. citizens, including sexual assault and murder. During the CNN presidential debate last week, former President Donald Trump said many young women had been murdered by individuals allowed into the country illegally by President Joe Biden.

“We have a border that is the most dangerous place in the world, considered the most dangerous place in the world, and he opened it, and these murderers are coming into our country, and they’re raping and killing women, and that’s a terrible thing,” Trump said.

Concerns that illegal immigrants could commit crimes received considerable media attention following the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley earlier this year. The suspect arrested in connection with her murder, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, entered the country illegally via El Paso, Texas, on September 8, 2022. Ibarra was reportedly released due to overcrowding in migrant detention facilities.

Riley’s body was discovered on the campus of the University of Georgia and authorities later determined that she had died of blunt force trauma. The young woman, a student at Augusta University, was murdered after going jogging on the campus of the University of Georgia.

Another case that attracted media attention concerns the murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was strangled to death by two illegal immigrants in Houston, Texas. According to an ICE statement, the two suspects, Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and Franklin Pena, had already been arrested and released by the US Border Patrol a few weeks before the child’s murder.

“Martinez and Pena both entered the United States illegally on an unknown date and at an unknown location without being investigated, granted parole, or admitted by a U.S. immigration officer,” ICE said. “On March 14, Martinez was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol near El Paso, Texas. He was released on a restraining order with a summons the same day. Pena was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol near El Paso on May 28. He was also released on a restraining order with a summons the same day he was arrested.”

Last week, police in Texas arrested 37-year-old Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta in connection with the murder of two Chick-fil-A employees who were shot at the restaurant in Irving, Texas. The suspect had been detained by ICE, meaning the agency intended to take him into custody.