EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Border Patrol agents from the El Paso Sector arrested a convicted sex offender who was granted a 48-year suspended sentence under the condition that he never return to the United States.
On Sept. 6, agents from the Ysleta station spotted two vehicles trying to circumvent a Border Patrol checkpoint on Highway 62/180 in Desert Haven, Texas. The drivers led agents on a brief chase before stopping. Agents said seven people tried to run away but were eventually caught.
Among those arrested was 43-year-old Mario Aristides Rivas-Marquez, a Salvadoran national and felon previously deported. He was charged with several sex crimes involving a victim younger than 13, and he was convicted for five counts of indecency.
Rivas-Marquez was sentenced to 50 years in prison but was granted a 48-year suspended sentence. He now faces a count of illegal re-entry among other charges.
In a statement, interim sector Chief Gloria Chavez said agents at immigration checkpoints are making a difference in keeping our communities safe.
“On a regular basis, our skilled agents make arrests of illegal aliens with criminal records in the United States,” Chavez said. “In this case, a violent child predator was apprehended by Border Patrol agents before he could commit further acts against innocent children again.”
