ERO Baltimore arrests Indian national convicted of sex crimes against Maryland minor

BALTIMORE — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Baltimore apprehended an Indian national convicted of sex crimes against a Maryland minor. Deportation officers from ERO Baltimore’s Criminal Apprehension Program arrested the 32-year-old near his residence in Ellicott City March 20.

“This predator’s presence in our area constituted a significant threat to the children of our Maryland neighborhoods,” said ERO Baltimore acting Field Office Director Matthew Elliston. “We cannot allow noncitizen sex offenders to roam the streets of our community. ERO Baltimore will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting the most egregious noncitizen offenders.”

The Indian national entered the United States Dec. 12, 2019, at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, as a nonimmigrant visitor.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehended him Nov. 14, 2021, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, as he attempted to board a Qatar Airlines flight to Doha, Qatar. He had an active warrant issued by Maryland’s Montgomery County Police Department for sex abuse of a minor and sex offense in the third degree. CBP granted the Indian sex offender parole until Nov. 12, 2022, and turned him over to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department for extradition to Maryland.

On the same date, U.S. Customs and Border Protection lodged an immigration detainer against the Indian noncitizen with the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Brooklyn, New York.

The Montgomery County Police Department arrested him Nov. 18, 2021, and charged him with sex abuse of a minor and four counts of sex offense in the third degree. Maryland’s Howard County Police Department arrested him Feb. 15, 2022, and charged him with two counts of sex abuse of a minor, and two counts of sex offense in the third degree.

The Pacific Enforcement Response Center lodged an immigration detainer against the Indian noncitizen with the Howard County Detention Center Feb. 16, 2022.

The Circuit Court for Montgomery County in Rockville convicted him Aug. 10, 2022, of sex abuse minor and sex offense third degree. The judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison for the crime of sex abuse of a minor and suspended all but 18 months of the sentence. The court also sentenced him to 10 years for the charge of sex offense in the third degree but suspended all 10 years. He was placed on 5 years of supervised probation.

The Circuit Court for Howard County in Ellicott City convicted the Indian noncitizen Aug. 23, 2022, of sex offense in the third degree and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, suspending all but 18 months.

ERO Baltimore lodged an immigration detainer against him with the Howard County Detention Center Feb. 1. On Feb. 25, ERO Baltimore issued him a notice to appear before a Department of Justice (DOJ) immigration judge.

The Howard County Detention Center refused to honor ERO Baltimore’s immigration detainer and released the Indian sex offender from custody March 20. Later that day, deportation officers from ERO Baltimore’s Criminal Apprehension Program arrested him in Ellicott City. A DOJ immigration judge in Baltimore granted him a Motion for Stipulated Removal Order and Waiver of Hearing and ordered him removed to India.

As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ERO lodges immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement. An immigration detainer is a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody. Detainers request that state or local law enforcement agencies maintain custody of the noncitizen for a period not to exceed 48 hours beyond the time the individual would otherwise be released, allowing ERO to assume custody for removal purposes in accordance with federal law.

Detainers are critical public safety tools because they focus enforcement resources on removable noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity. Detainers increase the safety of all parties involved — ERO personnel, law enforcement officials, removable noncitizens and the public — by 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 reoffend. 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.

ERO conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR is a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal.

Members of the public can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the ICE online tip form.

As one of ICE’s three operational directorates, ERO is the principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of domestic immigration enforcement. ERO’s mission is to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are interior enforcement operations, management of the agency’s detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO’s workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments along the border.

Learn more about ERO Baltimore’s mission to increase public safety in our Maryland communities on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROBaltimore.