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A Guatemalan national pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to failing to register as a sex offender and to illegally reentering the United States after being deported.
Jary Vincente Valenzuela, 27, a Guatemalan national formerly residing on Nantucket, pleaded guilty to one count of failing to register as a sex offender and one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for March 27, 2018.
On July 16, 2012, Valenzuela was found guilty in state court of rape of a child – a 14-year-old – and sentenced to 18 months in prison. As a result of his conviction, Valenzuela was classified as a Level 1 sex offender and is required to register as such. Upon release from his state sentence, Valenzuela was taken into immigration custody and processed for deportation to Guatemala. On Aug. 8, 2013, Valenzuela was deported.
In June 2017, law enforcement learned that Valenzuela had re-entered the United States and was living on Nantucket. Law enforcement confirmed with the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board that Valenzuela had a legal obligation to register as a sex offender and had not done so since illegally returning to the United States. On July 25, 2017, law enforcement arrested Valenzuela.
The charge of illegal reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The charge of failure to register as a sex offender provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Valenzuela will be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and John Gibbons, United States Marshal for the District of Massachusetts, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
