Immediate Release
October 12, 2010
DUSM Frank Conroy, District of South Carolina
(843) 727-4255

South Carolina Child Rapist Caught Hiding in Plain Sight in Florida

Charleston, SC – Mijail Surec-Garcia, 22, was arrested in Boca Raton, FL in the afternoon hours on Friday by U.S. Marshals and partnering law enforcement agencies at a job site where he was building and repairing homes. Garcia is charged by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office with Lewd Act on a Minor, Criminal Sexual Conduct, and two counts of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor. It is alleged that Garcia sexually assaulted a minor child, approximately 12 years old, in July 2010 on John’s Island.

The Operation Intercept Fugitive Task Force, headed by the U.S. Marshals, in Charleston, working alongside the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, developed information that Garcia had fled to Florida. Investigators alerted their counterparts in Boca Raton, the U.S. Marshal led Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force, who set up surveillance in an area where Garcia was believed to be working construction in a developing subdivision. Florida investigators ultimately observed Garcia working at the job site and placed him into custody without incident. Garcia was transported and held at the Palm Beach County jail where he awaits extradition back to South Carolina.

“Mr. Garcia attempted to flee South Carolina; however, the relentless efforts by the U.S. Marshals and their partnering law enforcement agencies captured this fugitive. Once we discovered the whereabouts of Mr. Garcia, our counterparts in Florida acted quickly in placing Mr. Garcia into custody. In this instance, it was necessary to act hastily, given that Mr. Garcia was working literally in citizens own back yard.â€