The State Department granted a B-2 tourist visa to a Brazilian citizen who had been convicted of raping a child, allowing him to enter the U.S.
Edimir Gustavo Eckelberg, 62, was convicted in May 2023 in Brazil but given the visa before his sentencing.
He arrived in New York in April 2023 and resettled in Massachusetts before ICE arrested him in May after Brazil issued a warrant for his failure to appear in court to serve his 12-year sentence.
The Department of Justice issued a Notice to Appear before an immigration judge.
Eckelberg was held in ICE custody until being deported on January 26 and handed over to Brazilian authorities.
An ICE official stated communities are safer without Eckelberg, calling child sexual assault the most repulsive crime.
“There is no more repulsive and disturbing crime than the sexual assault of a child,” ICE official Todd Lyons stated. “Our New England communities are safer without the presence of Edimir Gustavo Eckelberg, who is now in the hands of Brazilian authorities.”
The case highlighted how a convicted child rapist was able to obtain a U.S. visa from the State Department before facing full legal consequences.
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