Juan Lopez was deported to Mexico in 2009 after serving a prison sentence for a 1987 homicide. Lopez, 46, returned to the U.S. and was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in Austin, Texas on Thursday for sexual assault.
Lopez allegedly raped a woman in a car while her toddler was in the back seat, KXAN Austin reported Friday.
According to the affidavit, Lopez asked a woman he knew to drop him off at an unknown location nearly three weeks ago. Lopez allegedly threatened the woman’s life if she didn’t have sex with him, and when she said that her toddler was in the car, he replied, “I don’t give a damn.”
Lopez is being held in the Travis County Sheriff’s Office jail without bond and is being charged with aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued an immigration detainer for Lopez, since he’s in the country illegally.
Travis County has a stated policy of not honoring ICE detainers except for high-level criminals such as Lopez. The county was deprived of $1.8 million in criminal justice grants by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Wednesday.