12 men arrested by multi-agency task force face deportation
Authorities arrested 12 male sexual predators in southern Santa Clara County Wednesday in a day-long operation targeting convicted sex offenders who now face deportation from the United States.
Officials from the federal Department of Homeland Security aided by the Morgan Hill Police Department and a countywide task force conducted a roundup Wednesday that led to the arrest of 12 Mexican citizens convicted of sex crimes in California.
Five were arrested from Morgan Hill; four from Gilroy; and three in the county.
Those arrested were not accused of further sex related crimes. They were arrested because their convictions made them ineligible to stay in the United States, said Lori Haley, a public affairs officer for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency that coordinated the effort.
ICE agents, accompanied by members of the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force, visited 19 South County registered Megan’s Law sex offenders. Twelve were at home. Authorities are still looking to contact the remaining seven.
Morgan Hill Police Officer Kevin Beilman, who is a part of the SAFE task force, said Thursday the group of officers regularly checks up on registrants, to see who is and who isn’t in compliance with the conditions of their parole or probation.
“Once they are no longer on probation or parole, the monitoring ends, though they must continue to register,” he said.
There are 41 registered sex offenders on the Megan’s Law website in Morgan Hill. Countywide there are approximately 4,600.
Wednesday’s arrests are part of Operation Predator, a comprehensive ICE initiative aimed at those who prey on children, including human traffickers, international sex tourists, Internet pornographers and foreign national predators whose crimes make them deportable. More than 400 of the 5,500 child sex offenders arrested by ICE nationwide as part of Operation Predator have occurred in northern California.
“We will continue to work closely with our local law enforcement counterparts to identify, arrest, and prosecute those who prey on and exploit the children in this community,” said Charles DeMore, special agent in charge for ICE investigations in the Bay Area.
In an unrelated incident, police arrested Mario L. Anaya 47, of 17965 Monterey Road, Morgan Hill, at 1:25pm Wednesday on a misdemeanor charge of annoying a child while in a shopping center parking lot at Dunne and Monterey. He was taken to County Jail and also charged with felony violation of Meghan’s Law. He is on the Meghan’s Law list of serious offenders.
Among those arrested was Juan Carrasco, 33, of Gilroy, convicted in 2004 for committing lewd and lascivious acts with a girl under 14.
Carrasco was located at the Santa Clara jail where he was already serving time for failing to register as a sex offender.
Also arrested was 60-year-old Martin Salgado-Rivera, a Mexican national with a criminal history that spans three decades, including convictions for the rape and molestation of several minors. He was living in Morgan Hill.
“We will continue to work closely with our local law enforcement counterparts to identify, arrest, and prosecute those who prey on and exploit the children in this community,” said Charles DeMore, special agent in charge for ICE investigations in the Bay Area.
The targets for Wednesday’s operation were chosen by ICE agents, in coordination with local authorities, using information from the Megan’s Law and other sexual predator databases.
Editor Walt Glines contributed to this story.
Arrested
Morgan Hill
• Eric Figueroa-Lemus, 26: 411 Calle Verde. Citizen of Mexico; convicted July 29, 2004, indecent exposure
• Pablo Adrian Chavez, 29: 18555 Butterfield Blvd., 111. Citizen of Mexico; convicted Feb. 4, 1999, lewd/lascivious acts with a child under 14
• Pedro Bejar-Hernandez, 21: 16617 Lonehill Dr. Citizen of Mexico; convicted Oct. 17, 2003, rape of an unconscious child under 14
• Martin Salgado-Rivera, 60: Maple Leaf RV Park, 15200 Monterey Road, 272. Citizen of Mexico; convicted Nov. 1, 2001 lewd/lascivious acts with a child under 14
• Juan Durate-Rico, 61: 20 Ciolino #101E. Citizen of Mexico; convicted July 15, 1997, sexual battery of a child
Gilroy
• Agular Agular-Cervantez, 27: 7209 Eigleberry Ct., apt. C Citizen of Mexico; convicted Aug. 7, 2003, indecent exposure
• Rafael Contreras-Mejia, 59: 431 Fairview Dr. Citizen of Mexico; convicted Oct. 25. 2004, lewd/lascivious acts with a child under 14
• Juan R. Carrasco, 30: Incarcerated. Citizen of Mexico; convicted Oct. 25, 2004, lewd/lascivious acts with a child under 14
• Manuel Lopez Ocampo, 43: 7131 Church St., 4. Citizen of Mexico; convicted June 3, 2004, sexual battery; Aug. 21, 2001, theft
County
• Ezequiel Coloz Herrera, 47: 2255 Pacheco Pass Hwy. Citizen of Mexico; convicted Aug. 12, 1992, assault with intent to rape
• Ramon Perez Cobian, 44: 7980 Holsclaw Road, apt. B. Citizen of Mexico; convicted Aug. 17, 1999, willful cruelty to a child
• Ramero Garcia Alarcon, 26: 5450 Frazier Lake Road, Citizen of Mexico; convicted July 20, 2000, child molestation
