Press Release
ALLEGED PERUVIAN HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATOR RECEIVES MAXIMUM SENTENCE
July 3, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony V. Mangione, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Investigation in Miami, announce that a federal district court sentenced Telmo Ricardo Hurtado-Hurtado to six months in a federal prison, the highest possible penalty allowed under the sentencing guidelines for the charges against the defendant. Hurtado had pleaded guilty in May 2007 to all charges in the indictment - one count of making a false statement to a federal agency and one count of visa fraud.
Hurtado was arrested in April 2007 in connection with false statements on his December 2002 U.S. visa application. In that application, Hurtado stated that he had never been arrested or convicted of a crime. In fact, however, Hurtado was convicted in 1993 in Peru on charges of abuse of authority and giving false statements in connection with his involvement in the 1985 Accomarca massacre of suspected guerrillas in Peru, during which 69 villagers were killed.
In sentencing Hurtado to the maximum sentence under the guidelines, U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lenard made clear that "the doors to the United States are not open to [foreign torture suspects]."
Presently, ICE has charged the defendant with administrative extrajudicial killing, visa fraud, and visa overstay charges. On the basis of these charges, ICE will seek to deport Hurtado from the United States to Peru. Additionally, the Peruvian government has indicated that Hurtado will face charges of murder and forced disappearance in connection with the 1985 Accomarca massacre.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Investigations, as well as other agencies involved in this investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter Forand.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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