Previously Deported Child Molester Arrested At Border

Agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) arrested a previously deported child molester June 29 as he attempted to illegally cross the border four miles east of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry in west Texas. Agents followed footprints and subsequently found 29-year-old Heriberto Quiroz-Garcia from Mexico and another man trying to hide in the desert brush, CBP said in a news release.

Quiroz-Garcia has been charged by Cochise County Sheriff’s Office with “Sexual Misconduct with a Minor” in 2015. Quiroz-Garcia received a sentence of probation for life and was subsequently removed from the U.S. through Nogales, Arizona, CBP added.

Quiroz-Garcia was transferred to the El Paso County Detention Facility where he will remain in custody pending criminal and immigration prosecution for his prior order of removal and criminally prosecuted for illegal re-entry, CBP said.

"This is an ongoing situation that Border Patrol Agents face in southern New Mexico and Texas: hundreds of parents and children are being encountered by agents after having faced a dangerous trek north while convicted criminals attempt to avoid detection by circumventing agents who are occupied detaining large family groups," CBP said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection welcomes assistance from the community. People are encouraged to report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol and remain anonymous by calling 1-800-635-2509 toll free.