U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers met with Mexican law enforcement late Thursday to hand over a Mexican citizen accused of child rape and aggravated child sexual abuse in his home country, ICE officials announced.
The U.S. agency turned over 35-year-old Jose Raul Ramirez Grande – a.k.a. Pecos – to representatives of the Mexican Attorney General’s Office in Tijuana after he was caught in Chula Vista.
According to an arrest warrant, Ramirez sexually abused three young relatives, whom he also forced to engage in sexual acts with each other. The alleged victims were 5, 6 and 8 years old.
Mexican officials began to suspect Ramirez after one of the children’s fathers told police he returned home to find Ramirez sexually assaulting his 6-year-old daughter in 2005.
However, Ramirez fled before police could detain him.
ICE officials say they were contacted by the Tijuana Police Department earlier this month with information about Ramirez's possible location in the San Diego area.
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Officers worked with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department to find Ramirez and arrest him Thursday morning in Chula Vista.
While in ICE custody, officers say Ramirez admitted to most recently entering the U.S. illegally in Nov. 2007, so he was processed as a voluntary return.
He was repatriated hours later at a San Diego-area border crossing, according to ICE officials.
Ramirez will now face charges of child rape and aggravated child sexual abuse in Mexican court.
