A Venezuelan migrant is accused of sexually assaulting the 14-year-old daughter of his employer in Colorado while living in the basement of his home, police and reports say.
Jesus Alberto Pereira Castillo had crossed into the U.S. illegally in El Paso, Texas in September 2023 before being released by the Border Patrol, Homeland Security sources told the New York Post. He was taken into custody in Denver on Tuesday.
The arrest in Denver followed a recent interview with the city’s mayor Mike Johnston, who predicted a “Tiananmen Square moment” if federal immigration officials move to enforce President-elect Donald Trump’s pledged mass deportations.
“More than us having DPD [Denver Police Department officers] stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there,” Johnston told the website Denverite. “It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them.”
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“On August 29, 2024, at about 11:00 p.m., deputies responded to a south Jefferson County residence on a sexual assault investigation. Castillo’s employer owns the residence, and Castillo was temporarily staying in the basement of the home,” the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.
“At around 10:30 that evening, Castillo forced himself on the 14-year-old daughter of the homeowner, sexually assaulting her. He left the residence before deputies arrived,” it added.
The Sheriff’s Office says Castillo was arrested “without incident” following “many weeks of relentless investigative work.”
He was expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday.
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Sources also told the New York Post that Castillo previously was arrested in May this year for allegedly possessing tools for forgery/counterfeiting and larceny.
They added that following the alleged sexual assault, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had placed a detainer on Castillo.
Homeland Security and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond Friday to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
