MA Courts, ICE At Odds Over Accused North Shore Sex Offender

LYNN, MA — The detention of a Guatemalan national living on the North Shore accused of multiple sex crimes, including those involving a minor, was the subject of a dispute between the U.S. Customs and Immigrations Enforcement Office (ICE), the Massachusetts Court System and the Essex County Sherrif's Department in recent days.

ICE officials said the man from Lynn, who was not identified by name, was charged with nine counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, rape of a child, two counts of assault and battery and intimidation of a witness.

An ICE statement said the Massachusetts Court System "refused to honor ERO Boston's immigration detainer and ordered the release of the Guatemalan noncitizen" multiple times over the past two years. The statement said the national was subsequently arrested again on March 28 near his Lynn residence and will remain in ERO custody pending removal proceedings.

"Detainers are a critical public safety tool because they focus enforcement resources on removable noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity," ICE said. "Detainers increase the safety of all parties involved — ERO personnel, law enforcement officials, the removable noncitizens, and the public — allowing an arrest to be made in a secure and controlled custodial setting as opposed to at-large within the community.

"Since detainers result in the direct transfer of a noncitizen from state or local custody to ERO custody, they also minimize the potential that an individual will re-offend. Additionally, detainers conserve scarce government resources by allowing ERO to take criminal noncitizens into
custody directly rather than expending resources locating these individuals at-large."

The ICE statement originally said that the Essex County Sheriff's Department also refused to honor the immigration detainer and released him, which the Essex Sherriff's office refuted in a statement this weekend.

"This is simply untrue," the Essex Sheriff's statement said. "The Essex County Sheriff’s Department did receive a detainer for this individual on Nov. 8, 2023 while this person was in our custody being held on state charges. As per our protocols, the detainer was delivered to the Lynn District Court along with the individual for a January court date. The detainer was signed for by court officials and acknowledged. The individual was released from court and never returned to the custody of the Essex County Sheriff’s Department.

"We value our law enforcement partners working together to keep our communities safe, but the information that we provide to our citizens must be clear and correct."

ICE officials later amended their media release to indicate the Essex County Correctional facility in Danvers "was erroneously reported to have refused the ICE detainer when in fact it was the Massachusetts Court System."