September 27, 2007

ICE arrests 9 foreign-born sex offenders in overnight operation

CHICAGO - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents here arrested nine foreign-born registered sex offenders Tuesday night in Rockford and the western suburbs who now face deportation from the United States.

These arrests were made as part of Operation Predator , ICE's comprehensive initiative to safeguard children from foreign national pedophiles, international sex tourists, Internet child pornographers, and human traffickers. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 10,000 individuals nationwide, including more than 540 in Illinois.

Of the nine arrested, seven are from Mexico, one is from Laos and one is from Iraq. Four had been illegally residing in the United States; four are U.S. permanent residents ("green card" holders) whose sex-offender convictions render them deportable from the United States; and one individual is in the United States on a temporary visa.

The arrests were made in the following Chicago-area communities: Forreston, Rockford, Sterling and Waukegan. All are registered sex offenders with prior convictions for sex offenses that make them deportable. They are currently in ICE custody and will be placed into removal proceedings.

Among those arrested are:

• Antonio Rabadan-Estafania, a 25-year-old Mexican national, was convicted June 14 in Cook County of aggravated criminal sexual abuse against a 14-year-old minor and sentenced to 30 months probation. ICE agents arrested Rabadan-Estafania Sept. 25 without incident at his Wheeling residence.
• Benito Rodriguez, a 31-year-old Mexican national, was convicted Feb. 28 in Winnebago County of sexually exploiting a child aged 14 and sentenced to 60 days in prison. Rodriguez also has a 1999 conviction in Winnebago County for domestic battery. ICE agents arrested him Sept. 25 at his Rockford residence.

"Our ICE agents work to make our communities safer for everyone," said Chicago Special Agent-in-Charge Elissa A. Brown. "ICE will continue to work closely with our local law enforcement partners to take sex offenders off our streets and, whenever possible, remove them from the United States."

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline, 1-866-DHS-2ICE, which is monitored 24 hours a day. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or www.cybertipline.com .

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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