ICE D.C. Fugitive Operations Team arrests fugitive sexual predator

ICE Officers work with U.S. Marshals Task Force to arrest suspect in child exploitation

FAIRFAX, Va. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that its Washington, D.C. Fugitive Operations Team arrested a fugitive alien on Dec. 27, 2007, who was also wanted for sexual abuse of a minor in Prince William County, VA. Raul Ernesto Sarmiento Sanchez, a 48-year-old Honduran national, ignored an immigration judge's order of removal and has been a fugitive since 1997.

The Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force (CARFTF) was also seeking to arrest Sarmiento for sexual battery. Sarmiento was wanted since January 2007 for allegedly abusing a minor in December 2006. Sarmiento had also been charged with domestic violence.

The Capital Area Region Fugitive Task Force, led by the U.S. Marshals Service, consists of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, including Fugitive Operations officers from ICE's Washington Field Office. As a member of the task force, ICE conducted its own fugitive investigation of Sarmiento and was able to develop additional information on Sarmiento's whereabouts. ICE Officers took Sarmiento into custody last Thursday without incident at a Fairfax County apartment, where he was hiding in a closet.