Customs and Border Patrol caught a man wanted for rape trying to cross the border near Laredo, Texas.
CBP officers arrested 65-year-old Elio Benitez Pena, a U.S. citizen, trying to cross the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge at the Texas-Mexico border on May 21, according to a press release. Pena was wanted on a warrant for rape in Illinois.
“The apprehension of persons wanted in connection with sexual offenses – such as this particular case – underscores and perfectly illustrates CBP’s ongoing commitment to our border security mission and keeping our communities safe,” said Albert Flores, port director of the Laredo Port of Entry, in the release.
Pena was driving a vehicle at the border crossing, and officers referred him for secondary inspection, according to the release. They used “biometric verification and federal law enforcement databases” to verify his identity and citizenship. Then, officers found he was wanted by U.S. Marshals on a warrant for rape in Pontoon Beach, Illinois, just across the state line from St. Louis, Missouri.
“Criminal charges are merely allegations,” the release reads. “Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.”
CBP officers moved Pena to the Webb County Jail for “adjudication of the warrant,” the release said. According to jail records, he was booked on May 22 and faces three counts of aggravated sexual assault.
“Our frontline CBP officers place a priority focus on securing our borders,” Flores said in the release.
The Pontoon Beach Police Department first issued the warrant. The Dallas Express reached out to the department but did not hear back in time for publication.