Guatemalan Man Charged With MA Rape Is In ICE Custody, Officials Say

FRAMINGHAM, MA — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have arrested a Guatemalan national who was charged in 2022 with three counts of forcible rape of a child and three counts of aggravated rape of a child.

Jose Fernando-Perez, 49, was arrested in Framingham on Feb. 2.

The Lynn District Court arraigned Fernando on April 19, 2022, for rape of a child by force. The court later dismissed the case due to an indictment in the superior court, officials said.

ICE lodged an immigration detainer against Fernando on May 16, 2022, with the Essex County House of Correction.

The Essex County Superior Court in Salem, Massachusetts arraigned Fernando on three counts of rape of a child by force and three counts of aggravated rape of a child. He was released on pre-trial conditions on Oct. 6, 2022.

ICE officials said Fernando illegally entered the United States on an unknown date and location, but he had a run-in with the law as early as 2005.

The Lynn District Court in Massachusetts arraigned Fernando on Dec. 6, 2005, for leaving the scene of an accident with property damage and for attaching inaccurate license plates. The court convicted him of those charges on Oct. 19, 2012.

ICE officers served Fernando with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge following his arrest, and he remains in ICE custody, officials said.