Federal law enforcement seeks to take custody of an illegal migrant accused of raping an 11-year-old child while her younger sister was forced to remain in the room.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an arrest detainer for Kenneth Moreno Guzman, a 26-year-old criminal illegal migrant from Mexico charged with raping an 11-year-old girl at knifepoint while forcing her 10-year-old sister to remain in the room during the attack, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed with the Daily Caller News Foundation. The shocking crime occurred earlier in January within a mobile home park in Statesboro, Georgia.
“Another horrific tragedy for two innocent children by the hands of a criminal illegal alien,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement provided to the DCNF. “This monster should have never been in our country in the first place.”
“These are the victims President Trump and Secretary Noem are fighting for and the media and sanctuary politicians ignore,” McLaughlin continued. “We have lodged an arrest detainer to ensure ICE is notified to arrest this creep before he can ever prey on more innocent children.”
Kenneth Moreno Guzman. Image courtesy of DHS.
Guzman broke into a family’s home in the early morning hours of Jan. 12 and held both young girls at knifepoint, according to a press release from the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office. He allegedly raped the 11-year-old, but did not sexually assault the 10-year-old sister while she was forced to remain in the room.
The illegal migrant faces a laundry list of charges, including rape, statutory rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, cruelty towards children, home invasion and false imprisonment, among other charges, according to DHS. The Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office currently has Guzman detained in their jail without bond, and will likely remain in local custody for the duration of his criminal proceedings.
The Mexican national first unlawfully entered the U.S. in 2016 under the Obama administration and was later removed, according to DHS. He later unlawfully re-entered the country at an unknown date and time, a felony under U.S. law.
The 11-year-old victim and Guzman lived in close proximity, but did not know each other prior to the attack, according to the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office. During a press conference about the incident, Todd Hutchens, who leads the Sheriff’s Office’s Criminal Investigations Division, said the Mexican national broke into the mobile home that night because “he had previously seen this 11-year-old girl” and “claimed he was attracted to her.”
This is not Guzman’s first run-in with local law enforcement, according to DHS. He had been arrested by the Statesboro Georgia Sheriffs for driving without a license and registration in March 2023.
However, it’s not immediately clear how soon ICE agents will be able to get their hands on Guzman. Hutchens previously declared that the Mexican national will not be released from Bulloch County custody “under any circumstances” until his criminal case plays out in court.
Julie Hutchinson, a spokeswoman for the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office, did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the DCNF.
Georgia law enforcement historically cooperates with federal immigration authorities. After the February 2024 murder of Laken Riley — a nursing student in Georgia killed by a Venezuelan illegal migrant — Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation requiring jailers to hold illegal migrants wanted by ICE, or risk losing funding by the state.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
