Oscar Pacheco-Leonardo, an illegal immigrant, was arrested by the Charlotte police on June 14 - two months after being released on bail in a rape case. Pacheco-Leonardo was accused of having sex with a child under 13 years old. He was scheduled to appear in court in October.
ICE announced that it had released a detainee the following day but this was not respected and the 33-year-old Honduran was released on 16 June by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office. The immigration law enforcement agency said Pacheco-Leonardo had re-entered the United States illegally after being deported in 2006.
ICE stated that the 48-hour inmate could have allowed the agency time to take custody of Pacheco-Leonardo to deport him.
Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden defended himself at a press conference on Friday during which he did not ask any questions.
The sheriff said that ICE could have asked for a criminal arrest warrant against Pacheco-Leonardo for illegal return, but did not do so.
