ICE removes 'DC Groper' to Nicaragua

WASHINGTON – A Nicaraguan national known as the 'DC Groper,' who was convicted of sexually assaulting women in the DuPont Circle area of northwest D.C., was deported today to Nicaragua by officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Washington, D.C., field office.

Oscar Mauricio Cornejo Pena, 31, was living in the United States illegally and was remanded into ICE custody following the completion of his criminal sentence. While he was in jail, ICE placed a detainer on Cornejo so that upon his release he would come into ICE custody and go through removal proceedings rather than be allowed back in to the community.

In the summer of 2012, several young women were sexually assaulted in broad daylight in the DuPont Circle area. Cornejo would ride up on his bicycle and aggressively grope and fondle women, causing fear and sometimes pain. There were at least 10 instances of this and the assaults were escalating in frequency.

Following his arrest by the D.C. Metro Police, Cornejo plead guilty to four counts of misdemeanor sex abuse and was classified a Class C sexual offender.

"Every day ERO officers track criminal aliens serving their sentences to ensure they are immediately taken into ICE custody when they are released," said M. Yvonne Evans, field office director for ERO Washington. "Cornejo has proven to be a danger to the community and it is ICE's top priority in the interest of public safety to ensure his removal from the United States."

ERO enforces the nation's immigration laws by identifying and arresting removable aliens, and by detaining and removing priority aliens from the United States. ERO prioritizes the arrest and removal of convicted criminal aliens, those aliens who pose a threat to national security, immigration fugitives, and recent border entrants.