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Federal officials, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, arrested an undocumented immigrant who had been released from a county jail despite facing multiple charges related to sex crimes against children.
Oscar Adalberto Penate, a 56-year-old man from El Salvador, was taken back into custody on July 27 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations and the IRS’ Philadelphia offices. The Department of Homeland Security stated that Penate, who had an ICE detainer placed on him, was allowed to leave the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania due to the county’s sanctuary policies.
“If the elected officials in Montgomery County are not willing to protect the citizens of the county, we will,” said ICE ERO Philadelphia Field Office Director Brian McShane in a statement. “An undocumented immigrant who entered the United States unlawfully and is then charged with serious crimes like this should never be released to harm the citizens of Montgomery County.
“The sanctuary policies implemented by the Montgomery County Commissioners led prison officials to release this individual onto the streets instead of handing him over to ICE officials based on the detainer filed against him,” McShane added. “I am relieved that we were able to apprehend him before he could cause further harm.”
Homeland Security reported that Penate claimed to have entered the United States in 1998 by crossing the border into Texas.
He was arrested on July 22 by the Pottstown Township Police Department on charges that include “involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person under 16 years of age, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, two counts of indecent assault of a person under 13 years of age, two counts of corruption of minors by an individual over 18, and two counts of indecent assault without the other party’s consent.”
These charges against Penate are still pending.
“His criminal record includes an arrest by the Houston Police Department on August 18, 2001, for resisting arrest, search, or transport,” Homeland Security also disclosed. “He pleaded guilty to these charges on August 24, 2001.”
Penate will now be held in ICE custody while awaiting removal proceedings, according to Homeland Security.
The government of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on Friday.
