Latest Legal News from the Federal Criminal Courts in the United States

May 15, 2007

ICE special agents arrest convicted child predator, process him for deportation Canutillo man served time for exposing himself to two girls walking home from school

EL PASO, Texas - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents on Friday arrested and placed into deportation proceedings a Canutillo man who was convicted two years ago on two counts of indecency with a child.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and El Paso Police Department assisted ICE special agents with the arrest and provided background information on this case.

Juan Carlos Aguilar, aka Juan Leal, 32, was arrested Friday morning at his home in the 7000 block of Doniphan Drive. Aguilar, a Mexican national, has been a legal U.S. resident since 1991. Following his arrest, ICE agents placed Aguilar into removal proceedings; he is detained at ICE's El Paso Processing Center. His deportation hearing before an immigration judge has not yet been scheduled.

Aguilar was released March 16 after serving a two-year prison sentence for a previous child predator conviction. In May 2004, Aguilar exposed himself to two sisters, ages 11 and 6, as they were walking home from school. According to police reports, Aguilar approached the girls near their home. He stepped out of his van naked and engaged in lewd and lascivious conduct in plain view of the girls. Aguilar was convicted on two counts of indecency with a child in March 2005. Even though he is a legal U.S. resident, his felony conviction renders him deportable.

Only days after Aguilar was released from prison, the El Paso Police Department responded to a call about a man who twice tried to lure a young girl into his car on March 19 and 20 near a Westside elementary school. Both times the young girl fled unharmed. El Paso police consider Aguilar to be a suspect.