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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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Three illegal immigrants accused of raping children were among half a dozen alleged sex offenders rounded up by immigration officials on Nantucket Island earlier this month.
The group, all in the United States without authorization, were arrested in a multi-day operation by the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations unit in the tony Massachusetts enclave, where the average home is valued at $2.7 million.
One of those arrested, Elmer Sola, 49 from El Salvador, is facing 11 child sexual assault charges, including three counts of rape. It is not known when, or how, he entered the U.S.
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"Elmer Sola unlawfully entered the United States, then made his way into our Nantucket community before allegedly committing some horrific and despicable crimes against a child," ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons said in a press release.
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"The officers of ERO Boston will not tolerate such a threat to the children of our New England neighborhoods," Lyons continued. We will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders."
Sola's arrest, on Sept. 10, came as part of an operation by ERO to target "violent offenders," according to the Nantucket Police Department.
Officers also arrested another Salvadoran national, Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, 28, who is charged with one count of aggravated rape of a child with a 10-year age difference, and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.
Lyons described the alleged offenses against a Nantucket child as "detestable and disturbing".
"He represents a significant danger to the children of our Massachusetts communities," Lyons added in a press release.
Manuel Antonio Figueroa Vega, 29, was also detained, suspected of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl.
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The other three alleged offenders were:
- Felix Alberto Perez-Gomez, a 44-year-old Guatemalan national who was previously deported, is facing a charge of indecent assault and battery of a person over 14.
- Gean Do Amaral Belafronte, a Brazilian national who previously voluntarily left the U.S., is also accused of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or older.
- Yoaris Manuel Eustate Alvarado, 32, is facing three charges of rape, two charges of photographing an unsuspecting person in the nude, and one charge of distributing obscene matter.
In the case of Eustate Alvarado, the Nantucket Current reported that police started investigating in April 2023, after receiving a report from the alleged victim that she was being filmed without her consent. Officers later found two nude videos of the woman on the suspect's phone.
All six cases presented similar stories of having entered the country illegally, or having been previously removed and re-entering the U.S. Perez-Gomez, for example, was deported over a decade ago after being convicted on a driving charge.
Eustate Alvarado, Vega and Sola are all due to appear at the Nantucket Superior Court on Oct. 2. The others remain in ERO custody.
"We have been consistent in our promise to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders. This is not a hollow expression; it is a sincere promise to the residents of our New England communities," Lyons said in a press release.
The Center for Immigration Studies said in July that an estimated 50,000 illegal immigrants had arrived in Massachusetts since early 2021, with a total undocumented population of around 350,000. Not all would have arrived at the southwest border or entered illegally but may have overstayed visas.
Newsweek reached out to ICE for further comment on the operation via email Wednesday morning.
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