May 30, 2007

ICE special agents arrest convicted child sex offender
U.S. permanent resident was convicted this month on four counts of indecency with a child

EL PASO, Texas - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents yesterday arrested a 48-year-old man who earlier this month was convicted on four counts of indecency with a child.

Antonio Trujillo-Serna, of the 8000 block of San Jose Road, was placed into removal proceedings shortly after his arrest in East El Paso May 29. He is being detained at ICE's El Paso Processing Center awaiting deportation to Mexico.

Trujillo-Serna, a U.S. permanent resident, was convicted May 11 in the 384th District Court on one count of indecency with a child by exposure and three counts of indecency with a child by contact. He was sentenced to 10 years supervised release. This felony conviction renders Trujillo-Serna eligible for deportation.

According to court records, in May 2005, Trujillo-Serna sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl by touching her genital area. Two months earlier, another teenager reported that Trujillo-Serna had made inappropriate sexual contact with her multiple times for about two years since she was 12 years old.

In February 2002, an 11-year-old girl cried out saying Trujillo-Serna had sexually molested her and exposed himself to her.

"ICE is determined to make our communities safer for everyone, especially our children," said Roberto G. Medina, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in El Paso. "Using ICE's unique law enforcement authorities, ICE deports non-U.S. citizens following their felony convictions."

Trujillo-Serna's arrest is part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 9,800 individuals, including more than 900 in Texas.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. Investigators staff this hotline around the clock.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and 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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