A Dominican national living in the U.S. illegally since crossing the southern border into Texas in early 2023 was arrested by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last month after being charged locally with kidnapping and sex crimes against a Massachusetts resident.
ICE agents with Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested 46-year-old Emilio Jose Pena-Casilla, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, on Dec. 17 in Boston.
Pena-Casilla was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents near Eagle Pass, Texas on Jan. 9, 2023, ICE said.
However, he was released into the country the following day on his own recognizance under ICE’s “Alternatives to Detention” program.
On July 15, 2024, Pena-Casilla was arraigned in the Dorchester, Mass. District Court on charges of assault to rape, kidnapping, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or older, and intimidating a witness.
An immigration detainer lodged against Pena-Casilla by ICE was ignored by the Dorchester District Court, and Pena-Casilla was released into the community with GPS-tracking on July 17.
The Dominican illegal alien’s charges were moved into the Suffolk, Mass. County Superior Court, where he was indicted on the same charges on Sept. 11.
As of Thursday, Jan. 2, Pena-Casilla remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
“Emilio Jose Pena-Casilla stands accused of some very serious offenses against a Massachusetts resident,” said ERO Boston’s acting Field Office Director Patricia Hyde.
“We hold a sacred duty to protect the residents of our communities, and we will continue to do so by apprehending and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our neighborhoods,” Hyde said. “Today, another victim in Massachusetts no longer needs to fear their predator.”
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