An illegal alien from Mexico wanted by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office on rape charges was arrested late Wednesday, October 10, 2012, after officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) tracked him down at a residence in southwest Detroit where he was holed up.
Miguel Angel Davila-Ruiz, 33, was wanted on a four-count warrant charging him with first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. The crime is alleged to have occurred in Pontiac, Mich. When the warrant was issued in July, ERO and sheriff's deputies initiated efforts to find Davila-Ruiz. Crime Stoppers last month offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, sparking regional media interest in the case.
Working from information provided by various sources, ERO Fugitive Operations officers were able to locate Davila-Ruiz Oct. 10 at a residence in the 1200 block of Central St. in southwest Detroit. When ERO officers arrived and attempted to make entry, Davila-Ruiz and a male associate fled from the house on foot exiting at the rear before officers gave chase. Both Davila-Ruiz and the associate were taken into custody in the backyard of the home. No one was injured during their apprehension.
Davila-Ruiz was turned over to the sheriff's office last night. An ICE detainer has been filed against him. After the full measure of criminal charges is resolved, to include any possible conviction and sentence, Davila-Ruiz will be returned to ICE custody and processed for deportation. His associate was arrested on administrative immigration violations and will remain in ICE custody pending his removal from the U.S.
"The arrest of this alleged violent criminal alien is at the absolute core of what we do," said Rebecca Adducci, field office director for ERO Detroit. "ICE is using its unique immigration enforcement authorities to safeguard our communities from criminal aliens and others who pose a public safety threat, including suspects attempting to evade law enforcement. I'm very fortunate to lead a team of officers who day in and day out exhibit unmatched skill and professionalism in the pursuit of criminal aliens."
"It is great when our work with our law enforcement partners result in removing dangerous criminals from our streets," said Oakland County Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard. "I thank ICE for their work and look forward to holding this perpetrator responsible for all his crimes."
ERO is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that targets serious criminal aliens who present the greatest risk to the security of our communities, such as those charged with or convicted of homicide, rape, robbery, kidnapping, major drug offenses and threats to national security. ERO also prioritizes the arrest and removal of those who game the immigration system including immigration fugitives or those criminal aliens who have been previously deported and illegally re-entered the country.
Officials from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of South Africa and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced the sentencing of a U.S. citizen for crimes he committed while he was a volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps. He was sentenced Oct. 10, 2012, in a U.S. court in the state of Connecticut.
Jesse Osmun, 33, was sentenced Wednesday, October 10, 2012 in Hartford, Conn., to 180 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for sexually abusing four minor girls, all under the age of 6, while he was a volunteer in South Africa.
"Thanks to the close collaboration of HSI's attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, a U.S. citizen has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes he committed here in South Africa," said Peter Vincent, director of HSI's Office of International Affairs. "As this sentence clearly demonstrates, there will be no refuge for U.S. citizens who believe that they may victimize children outside the United States. No place is too distant or too remote to escape the attention of law enforcement. Thanks to an extensive investigation we worked jointly with our South African counterparts, Jesse Osmun will now spend a considerable amount of time in a U.S. jail. Law enforcement will hunt down child predators to the ends of the earth to protect innocent children from being violated."
"This case has shown that both the United States and South Africa have no tolerance when it comes to the abuse of innocent children," said U.S. Embassy Pretoria Chargé d'Affairs Virginia E. Palmer. "Through close collaboration between U.S. and South African law enforcement officials we have been able to close this sad case and bring justice to this criminal. Our heart goes out to the young victims involved."
"I appreciate the well-coordinated efforts of the Department of Justice, Peace Corps Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations and the South African Police Service, to ensure that justice was served in this case," said Carrie Hessler-Radelet, acting director of the Peace Corps. "The Peace Corps has no tolerance for abuse of any kind, and our deepest sympathies are with all the victims involved."
According to court documents, Osmun was sworn in as a Peace Corps volunteer in early 2010 and began his service at a non-governmental organization (NGO) in South Africa that provides education, food and other services to children, many of whom are orphans. In May 2011, Osmun resigned from the Peace Corps after being confronted by the program director of the NGO with allegations of sexual abuse. He returned to the United States June 2, 2011. Shortly thereafter, HSI special agents, working with members of the South African Police Service (SAPS), Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (DPCI), began investigating the allegations of abuse.
The investigation revealed that, while volunteering at the NGO, Osmun enticed four young girls, all of whom were under the age of six, to engage in illicit sexual acts with him. Osmun persuaded the children to engage in this conduct by playing games with them and providing them with candy. Osmun sexually abused one of the victims approximately two times a week over the course of approximately five months.
On Aug. 4, 2011, Osmun was arrested at his home in Milford, Conn. On June 27, 2012, he pleaded guilty to one count of traveling from the United States to South Africa to engage in illicit sexual conduct with children.
Osmun has been detained since his arrest.
HSI targets, investigates and prosecutes sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. Since the creation of HSI and the passage of the PROTECT Act – a U.S. law – HSI has expanded the resources devoted to these types of investigations.
"PROTECT" is an acronym which stands for "Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today." Part of this U.S. law authorizes fines and imprisonment for U.S. citizens or residents who engage in illicit sexual conduct abroad.
In the nine years since the federal laws protecting children outside the United States from American sexual predators were significantly strengthened, HSI has arrested 93 suspects on child sex tourism charges.
Numerous agencies in the United States and South Africa participated in this extensive investigation. United States agencies included: HSI; Peace Corps, Office of Inspector General; and the U.S. Department of State's regional security officer in Durban, South Africa.
In South Africa, the investigation was conducted and coordinated by the NPA and SAPS DPCI.
