WASHINGTON, DC — A Mexican national previously deported twice and charged with sex crimes involving a child in Virginia was arrested last week by federal agents near the National Mall, ending a long-running search that began after local authorities released him back into the community.
David Perez-Teofani, 35, was taken into custody on Tuesday near the iconic stretch of Washington landmarks by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and officers from the Metropolitan Police Department. ICE officials said Perez-Teofani was in the country illegally and had reentered the U.S. after being deported on two previous occasions.
In January, Perez-Teofani was arrested by Fairfax County Police and charged with aggravated sexual battery and proposing sex acts involving a child under 13. Despite those serious allegations, the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center released him after declining to honor an ICE immigration detainer. Local prosecutors later dropped the child sex crime charges, but ICE continued pursuing the suspect for federal immigration violations.
According to ICE, Perez-Teofani first entered the U.S. illegally before being apprehended in 2014 and deported on November 9 of that year. Just days later, he attempted to reenter the country using a fraudulent U.S. passport at the San Ysidro port of entry in California. He was arrested again, and removed a second time on November 23, 2014. At some point after that, he crossed the border illegally for a third time.
Officials say Perez-Teofani drew public attention during his arrest near the National Mall by loudly crying and resisting agents, prompting onlookers to gather.
Federal officials confirmed Perez-Teofani will be removed from the United States for immigration violations despite the dropped criminal charges.