ICE Lodges Arrest Detainer For Mastic Man Accused Of Sexually Abusing 3 Girls In LI Store: Feds

MASTIC, NY — The U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged an arrest detainer for a Mastic man who has been accused of sexually abusing three young girls at TJ Maxx in Medford earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday.

In a news release Tuesday afternoon, the agency described the charges that Jimmy Harry Velasquez Gomez now faces as "cruelty toward a child and lewd or lascivious acts with a minor." Gomez, a Honduran native, has been deported twice and is "a repeat sex offender," who was convicted of indecent exposure in 2018, the agency said.

Further details were not provided.

In an email to Patch, Velasquez Gomez's defense attorney, Daniel Belano of Islandia, called the news release "outrageous and false."

"My client has pled not guilty," he added.

"My client was never 'caught' on any video molesting or groping anyone," he said. "He is not charged with cruelty to a child, or with lewd or lascivious acts with a minor — and he is not a convicted sex offender."

"None of these allegations made by ICE are true," he continued. "This is yet another example of ICE abusing its authority."

"We demand an immediate retraction and apology for its inaccuracies," he added.

In a statement, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the accounts of the children "sickening" and referred to Gomez as stealing "the innocence of his child victims and terrorized families." This is exactly who we mean when we say we're targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens terrorizing our communities," she added.

Velasquez Gomez was deported in 2019 and reentered the U.S. illegally, according to McLaughlin.

The detainer will ensure that he is never released to "prey on more innocent children," she said. "Secretary [Kristi] Noem will not allow pedophiles to victimize innocent children."

Velasquez Gomez was initially encountered by U.S. Border Patrol in April of 2005 near Cotulla, Texas, and was removed from the U.S. on May 12, 2005, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

He has since committed another felony by illegally re-entering the U.S. for a 3rd time at an unknown time and location, the agency said.

A spokesperson for the agency declined further comment.

An indictment was unveiled last week charging Velasquez Gomez with upgraded charges, including three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, a felony, in connection with incidents during which he grabbed the buttocks of the children between April and October, Suffolk prosecutors said Monday.

He additionally faces three counts of second-degree sexual abuse, and endangering the welfare of a child, all misdemeanors, court records show.

He was ordered held on $350,000, $950,000 bond, or $3.5 million partially secured bond, pending his next court date on Jan. 14, according to the records.

If convicted of the top charge, he faces up to seven years in prison.

During the investigation of the sexual abuse, Suffolk police gathered evidence, including video surveillance from each incident, showing Velasquez Gomez on each date, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney's office said.

On April 19, a 7-year-old girl, who was shopping with her mother in the store, asked permission to look around the toy aisle, and as she stood there, a man walked toward her and touched and squeezed her buttocks with his hand, prosecutors said.

The girl went back to her mother to tell her what happened, adding that the mother immediately began to look for the man but couldn’t find him, and called the police, who arrived on scene and began an investigation, according to police.

Five months later, on Sept. 20, a 11-year-old girl saw a man holding his genitals through his clothes, and a short time later, the man walked toward her and grabbed her buttocks with his hand as he passed, prosecutors said.

The girl told her parents what happened, but the man had already left the store, prosecutors said, adding that her family called the police and reported the incident.

In the final incident before his arrest, on Oct. 29, a 9-year-old girl was shopping with her mother and asked permission to look around the toy aisle while her mother was at the end of that same aisle looking at clothes, prosecutors said.

When the child noticed a man passed her, he looked down the aisle a few times before approaching her and when he did, pulled up the bottom of her sweatshirt and squeezed her buttocks, according to prosecutors.

The child ran to her mother for help immediately and they contacted the police, prosecutors said.

Tierney said his office "takes allegations of crimes against children extremely seriously. The charges against this defendant describe disturbing acts of sexual abuse that strike at the heart of our community’s sense of safety."

"My office will relentlessly pursue justice on behalf of these victims and their families," he added.

Patch has reached out to Tierney's office for comment.