MARYDEL, Md. - An apparent illegal immigrant who is facing rape charges in Caroline County after he was caught while trying to flee the country is back in Maryland.
According to the Caroline County Sheriff's office, 19-year-old Sergio Soto, from Guatemala, is accused of raping a young girl in Marydel. Deputies say Soto was living in Hartly, Del. Authorities searched the area but did not find Soto.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working jointly with ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested Soto at the Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Wednesday. The man was arrested while he attempted to flee the country by boarding a flight destined for Guatemala.
Soto was arrested by a joint Border Security Enforcement Task Force (BEST) comprised of HSI special agents and CBP officers. The Hartsfield BEST exists to enhance extended border security by disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal activities transiting through the airport.
In addition to CBP and HSI, the task force includes the Drug Enforcement Administration as well as state and local partners from the Clayton County District Attorney's Office, Clayton County Police Department, Atlanta Police Department and the Georgia Department of Revenue.
"There are no borders to federal agencies' work together to capture wanted criminals." said Carey Davis, CBP Port Director for the Area Port of Atlanta. "We remain vigilant in taking dangerous people off the streets and prohibiting fugitives from escaping the country."
"Fugitives who seek to commit crimes in the United States thinking they may flee elsewhere should be on notice that HSI and its law enforcement partners are actively committed to identifying and disrupting transnational criminal networks." said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Nick Annan.
Soto was taken into custody after CBP officers verified the validity of the arrest warrants with the Caroline County Sheriff's Office. HSI special agents subsequently detained him on immigration charges and transferred him to the Atlanta Police Department pending his extradition to Maryland to face the multiple felonies he is charged with in the state.
