ICE Arrests Accused Sex Offender Who VA Sheriff Declined To Detain

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A 35-year-old man arrested in the Town of Herndon on incest and sexual battery charges in January and released on bail is a resident of Honduras in the U.S. illegally, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Marvin Mateo-Alberto was arrested by federal officers in Falls Church on April 10.

The arrest came months after Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid declined to honor an ICE detainer request and instead released Mateo-Alberto on Jan. 15.

“Marvin Mateo-Alberto stands accused of some very appalling and disturbing crimes and represents a threat to the children of our Virginia communities,” said Russell Hott, director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C. Field Office. “We cannot in good conscience allow Mr. Mateo to continue to potentially threaten other children in our neighborhoods. ICE Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien threats from our streets.”

Fairfax County Police arrested Mateo-Alberto in Herndon on Jan. 2, citing him on felony charges of aggregated sexual battery by a parent of a child 13-17 years of age and incest with a child 13-17 years old.

After being held in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, Mateo-Alberto appeared in Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, where he was granted bail, according to court documents. His preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 9.

Kincaid's decision to not extend Mateo-Alberto's detention can be traced back to a Jan. 22, 2018, meeting she had with ICE officials. At that meeting, Kincaid notified ICE that she was going to terminate the county’s Intergovernmental Service Agreement with the agency and no longer hold inmates past their release date unless the request included a criminal detainer issued by a court.

“We intend to comply with all federal obligations as they pertain to ICE,” Kincaid said at the time. “The current contract is not necessary for us to do this, as evidenced by the fact that the vast majority of localities in the Commonwealth have no contractual arrangement. We found it expedient to no longer have an agreement that required us to extend our resources beyond these obligations. We remain committed to our mission and mandate."

U.S. Border Patrol agents initially arrested Mateo-Alberto after he illegally entered the United States Oct. 17, 2005, near Eagle Pass, Texas, according to an ICE news release. He was given a notice to appear before a U.S. Justice Department immigration judge.

On April 5, 2006, an immigration judge ordered Mateo-Alberto removed from the U.S. and returned to Honduras, according to court documents.

Officers with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and Virginia State Police assisted ICE in Mateo-Alberto’s arrest on April 10.