❓WHAT HAPPENED: An illegal immigrant facing multiple charges of sex crimes against children was arrested after being released from a county jail due to sanctuary policies.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Oscar Adalberto Penate, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Montgomery County officials.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Arrested on July 27 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, after release from Montgomery County Correctional Facility.
💬KEY QUOTE: “If the elected officials in Montgomery County are not going to protect the citizens of the county, we will.” – ICE ERO Philadelphia Field Office Director Brian McShane.
🎯IMPACT: Penate remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings, with charges of serious sexual offenses against minors still pending.
A 56-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador, charged with multiple sex crimes against children but released by a sanctuary county in Pennsylvania, has been detained by federal immigration officials. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Philadelphia, arrested and detained Oscar Adalberto Penate on July 27 after the accused child sex offender was released from the Montgomery County Correctional Facility due to the county’s sanctuary laws.
“If the elected officials in Montgomery County are not going to protect the citizens of the county, we will,” said ICE ERO Philadelphia Field Office Director Brian McShane. “An illegal alien who committed a crime by unlawfully entering the United States, who is then charged with heinous crimes like this, should never be released to prey on the citizens of Montgomery County.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that Penate had an ICE detainer placed on him, but Montgomery County’s sanctuary policies led to his release regardless. McShane criticized these policies, saying, “The sanctuary policies recently enacted by the Montgomery County Commissioners forced prison officials to release this individual to the streets rather than turn him over to ICE officials on the detainer filed against him. I am just glad we got him before he could harm another.”
Penate, who claimed to have entered the United States in 1998 by crossing the border into Texas, was arrested on July 22 by the Pottstown Township Police Department. Charges against him include indecent assault of a person under 13, corruption of minors, and other offenses. These charges remain pending.
DHS also revealed that Penate has a prior criminal history, including a 2001 arrest by the Houston Police Department for resisting arrest, to which he pleaded guilty. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
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