A Guatemalan national residing illegally in the United States was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following multiple child sex crime charges in Massachusetts. Juan Rene Barcenes-Velasquez, 56, was arrested March 31 by ICE Boston officers after he was transferred from the Worcester District Court.
Barcenes-Velasquez, who entered the country unlawfully at an unknown time and location, faces five counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. The charges stem from a recent arraignment in Worcester District Court. ICE lodged an immigration detainer on the same day, which the court honored, enabling federal agents to assume custody without a separate arrest operation.
“Juan Rene Barcenes-Velasquez illegally entered the United States and unlawfully settled in Massachusetts,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde. “Now he has apparently repeatedly victimized a child, doing unthinkable damage to her.”
Barcenes-Velasquez has a prior criminal record dating back more than two decades. In 2003, he was arraigned and convicted in Worcester District Court for violating a prevention order and was sentenced to probation.
Following his most recent arraignment, ICE officials served Barcenes-Velasquez with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge. He remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
ICE praises local court’s cooperation in transfer
The agency noted that local cooperation with the immigration detainer minimized public safety risks. “It is refreshing that our partners in Worcester placed a priority on public safety,” Hyde said in the statement. “The alternative would be for ICE to send a team of officers to make an at-large arrest potentially placing the officers, the offender — and most importantly, the community — in harm’s way.”
ICE Boston emphasized that removal of individuals with serious criminal backgrounds remains a top enforcement priority in the region. Barcenes-Velasquez’s immigration case will proceed while he is detained.
Officials did not disclose the details surrounding the alleged incidents involving the minor victim. No trial date has been set in the state charges at this time.
Barcenes-Velasquez’s arrest marks the latest in ICE Boston’s ongoing effort to remove individuals accused of violent or predatory crimes.