ERO Washington, D.C. enforcement action results in sentencing of Honduran child rapist for receiving child sexual abuse material, assaulting federal officer in Virginia

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The subject of an Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C. targeted operation received a five-year federal prison sentence June 27 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for a man guilty of receiving child sexual abuse material and assaulting a federal officer. Deportation officers from ERO Washington, D.C. apprehended Jhoan Esau Lemus-Ramos, 23, an unlawfully present Honduran national who raped a 13-year-old victim in Herndon.

“Jhoan Esau Lemus-Ramos represented a significant threat to the children of our Virginia communities,” said ERO Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Liana Castano. “He not only traumatized his young victim by forcing himself on her; he also harassed her into sending him compromising images of her. Upon his apprehension, Lemus Ramos assaulted one of our officers. ERO Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by apprehending and removing the most egregious noncitizen offenders from our neighborhoods.”

On Jan. 4, deportation Officers from Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C., arrived at Lemus-Ramos’ residence in Springfield with a warrant for his arrest. As they attempted to arrest him, he struck an officer in the face, causing an injury that required stitches.

According to court documents, Lemus-Ramos unlawfully entered the United States in 2021. In February 2022, Lemus-Ramos contacted a 13-year-old girl through an internet messaging application.

In March 2022, Lemus-Ramos met the victim in a parking lot in Herndon. When she attempted to resist Lemus Ramos’ sexual advances, he forcibly raped her.

For the next several months — through at least August 2022 — Lemus-Ramos repeatedly asked the victim for nude or semi-nude photographs. She eventually complied and sent the photos via cellphone.

When the victim wanted to stop interacting with Lemus-Ramos, he used the photos to threaten her and force her to have sex with him. The threats only stopped when the victim contacted Herndon police for help.

A forensic examination revealed messages between Lemus-Ramos and the victim as well as child sexual abuse material.

This investigation into this case was conducted by HSI Washington, D.C. and the Herndon Police Department. The arrest was conducted by ERO Washington, D.C. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. attorney’s offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

As one of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’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.

In fiscal year 2023, ERO arrested 73,822 noncitizens with criminal histories; this group had 290,178 associated charges and convictions with an average of four per individual. These included 33,209 assaults; 4,390 sex and sexual assaults; 7,520 weapons offenses; 1,713 charges or convictions for homicide; and 1,655 kidnapping offenses.

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

Learn more about ICE’s mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROWashington.