http://americandaily.com/article/13997

Minnesota Man Deported After Conviction for Sex Crime Against 6-Year Old
By Jim Kouri CPP (06/11/2006)

Federal authorities deported a Willmar, Minnesota man on Thursday who was convicted of sexually assaulting a six-year old girl.

Carlos Medina-Moreno, 59, a citizen of Mexico, was flown from the Twin Cities to the U.S.-Mexico border yesterday afternoon along with 56 other illegal aliens. Of the 57 deported, 27 had criminal convictions for such crimes as: assault, carrying a concealed weapon, aggravated assault on a police officer, burglary, weapons offenses, sexual assault, forgery, domestic assault, drunk driving, drug offenses, larceny, fraud, forgery, receiving stolen property and cruelty toward a spouse.

Willmar Police officers arrested Medina-Moreno August 27, 2005, following an investigation by the police and Kandiyohi County Family Services. He was originally charged in Kandiyohi County District Court with one count each of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and second-degree criminal sexual conduct for molesting the girl.

Medina-Moreno pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct Feb. 6, 2006. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison, which was stayed, was placed on probation for 25 years, and was required to register as a predatory offender. He served 193 days in prison and was turned over to Immigration agents on March 29.

Medina-Moreno was also convicted of domestic assault in Kandiyohi District Court in 2001 and was sentenced to 90 days in prison.

“A child’s innocence was destroyed by this criminal,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Cangemi of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Bloomington.

“We will not tolerate the presence of those who prey on children. They will be sought out, arrested and deported.” Cangemi oversees the enforcement of immigration and customs laws in a five-state area that includes Minnesota.

Medina-Moreno had entered the United States in 1969 as a legal permanent resident, or “green card” holder. His criminal record resulted in the loss of his legal status, and a federal immigration judge subsequently ordered him deported.

Medina-Moreno’s removal is part of Operation Predator, a comprehensive initiative to safeguard children from foreign national pedophiles, international sex tourists, Internet child pornographers, and human traffickers. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 7,500 individuals nationwide, including 216 in Minnesota, making it one of the top 10 states for these arrests.


*Ed: Views are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of American Daily.