A 43-year-old Mexican national faces incest and criminal sexual conduct charges after a minor was found giving birth outside a South Carolina hospital.
Federal immigration authorities have lodged an arrest detainer for a Mexican national charged with incest and multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct with a child in Oconee County, South Carolina, the Department of Homeland Security announced April 17.
Luis Armando Argueta Montejo, 43, was arrested by the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office following the discovery of a minor giving birth in the parking lot of Oconee Memorial Hospital. Investigators determined that Montejo had engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim, who is reportedly between 11 and 14 years old. He faces charges of incest and three counts of criminal sexual conduct with a child.
Montejo told ICE he first entered the United States in 2006 and had no previous criminal record in the country prior to this arrest. ICE lodged the detainer on April 17 to ensure Montejo is transferred to federal custody after he faces charges in the American justice system.
South Carolina is a state that cooperates with ICE enforcement requests, which DHS officials cited as critical to ensuring Montejo will not be released back into the community.
“This sicko should NEVER have been in our country to prey on children in the first place,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “Under Secretary Mullin, ICE lodged an arrest detainer with South Carolina to ensure this monster is never loose in our communities again. Thankfully, South Carolina cooperates with ICE law enforcement. This is why we need cooperation from state and local partners, so together we can keep criminals off our streets and make America safe again.”
DHS noted that victims of crimes committed by illegal aliens can receive support through the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office by calling 1-855-488-6423.
