Updated at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday: Two Salvadoran nationals were charged in late July with raping an 11-year-old girl on separate occasions in a Germantown mobile home, prompting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue detainers for both of them.
Carlos Ernesto Palacios-Amaya, 28, of Gaithersburg, was charged with four counts of second-degree rape for four incidents between Sept. 11 and Oct. 21, 2018.
Mauricio Anto Barrera-Navidad, 29, of Damascus, was charged with one count of second-degree rape for an incident on July 21, 2018.
Palacios-Amaya is a Salvadoran national who was removed from the United States in 2014, according to ICE, which referred to him as “a repeat immigration violator” in a statement.
Barrera-Navidad is a Salvadoran national unlawfully present in the country facing an order of removal issued by an immigration judge in 2016, ICE said in a statement.
Detainers were lodged for both Palacios-Amaya and Barrera-Navidad following their arrests on rape charges on July 25 and 26, respectively.
Detainers are requests to local law enforcement to hold a person for up to two days so ICE can take over custody for removal, the agency said in a statement.
“After determining that the suspects are undocumented immigrants, Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requested that the County notify them if and when the two men are scheduled to be released from custody for any reason. The County will do so,” County Executive Marc Elrich said in a statement.
Elrich added that the county’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation will notify ICE if the suspects become eligible for release, but until then they will remain in custody until the local legal process is complete.
“We want the people of Montgomery County to know that our law enforcement and other support agencies are vigilant in enforcing local laws, rules, and regulations,” Elrich said. “We believe that being a welcoming community to the people who live and work here creates a stronger relationship between communities and our law enforcement agencies, which make our communities safer.”
The victim in both cases disclosed the assaults to an employee at a youth social services organization in early July, according to court documents.
Barrera-Navidad raped the girl once, authorities said. They communicated with each other through their phones beforehand and afterward.
Palacios-Amaya is accused of raping the girl four times. Once, Palacios-Amaya recorded the assault with his cellphone, authorities said.
“This alleged crime is horrible, and I am confident that justice will be served in this case,” Elrich said.
Palacios-Amaya was being held without bond in a county detention center. Barrera-Navidad was being held on 10% bond in a county detention center.
Both men are scheduled to appear in Rockville District Court on Aug. 23. An attorney representing Palacios-Amaya and Barrera-Navidad did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
ABC7 first reported the arrests.
Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@moco360.media.
