ICE deports man convicted of sexually assaulting girl, 3BY NANCY YANG
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 06/28/2007 03:29:49 PM CDT


An 18-year-old man on Wednesday was deported to Mexico after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 3-year-old girl at his family's daycare center.


Reyes Salazar-Clara on June 13 was convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. Salazar-Clara is a citizen of Mexico who illegally entered the United States in June 2005, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

The deportation is part of the agency's Operation Predator, a four-year initiative aimed at those who sexually exploit children.

According to a criminal complaint, police were called to the Hennepin County Medical Center on Feb. 21, where they found a 3-year-old girl suffering from a cut and other injuries stemming from sexual assault.

An investigation led to Salazar-Clara's arrest.

Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct and was sentenced to 36 months in prison, which was stayed.

Federal officials took custody of Salazar-Clara on June 19.

To date, Operation Predator has led to to more than 10,000 arrests. Of that, more than 8,600 were foreign national sex offenders whose crimes make them deportable. So far, more than 5,500 have been deported.

Through Operation Predator, immigration and customs enforcement officials target child pornographers, child sex tourists and facilitators, human smugglers and traffickers of minors and those deported for child exploitation offenses who have illegally re-entered the United States



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