(The Center Square) – Four noncitizens in the U.S. illegally with prior histories and convictions related to child exploitation have been taken into custody as part of “Operation Apex Predator,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced.
The operation, carried out through Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement Removal Operations Newark, targets illegal aliens who have previously committed crimes against children.
Two of the arrests took place on July 21, when authorities apprehended 27-year-old Gerson Jose Saenz Umana, a citizen of El Salvador, and 42-year-old Javier Garcia Nicolasa, of Mexico, ICE said.
Garcia Nicolasa was sentenced to three years in prison on Dec. 1, 2023, after being found guilty of sexually endangering a child.
“He entered the U.S. on an unknown date and through an unknown location,” authorities said in a news release.
Officials and Umana, now a registered sex offender, first crossed paths in November 2012, near Falfurrias, Texas, ICE said.
HSI and ERO Newark worked together to take two more individuals into custody on July 17.
Juan Villatoro Valle, a 45-year-old who is originally from El Salvador, and Reyes Peralta-Salazar, a 38-year-old citizen of Mexico, both both illegal entered the U.S. without authorization, ICE said.
Sometime before 2000, Villatoro Valle made an unauthorized entrance into the United States, ICE said. He was given Temporary Protected Status in 2006 but was denied permanent residency in 2009.
After being found guilty of harming children under the age of 13, Villatoro Valle was sentenced to five years in jail on Aug. 2, 2019. His charges included “aggravated criminal sexual assault” and “endangering with sexual conduct,” according to officials.
On Sept. 14, 2023, authorities apprehended Peralta-Salazar and charged him with criminal sexual conduct and child endangerment relating to sexual misconduct. He was ordered to serve 180 days.
Authorities have said that Peralta-Salazar crossed into the U.S. unlawfully without going through an inspection, though the exact timing of his entry remains unclear.
They were all required to register as sex offenders in New Jersey and are currently detained by ICE, as they are waiting to move forward with other legal proceedings and deportation, ICE said.
