illegal immigrants Arrested on rape charges in Virginia last week The Post has learned he has a long rap sheet, including nearly 30 run-ins with police for sex crimes and assaults — but instead of being deported from the country he was repeatedly slapped on the wrist.
Law enforcement sources said 31-year-old Dennis Humberto Navarrete Romero has been a threat since 2017, with police dealings ranging from minor drug offenses to a worrying progression of deviant crimes such as indecent exposure, public nudity and masturbation and sexual assault. 29 encounters have been carried out. ,
The Honduran immigrant was arrested for allegedly raping a woman on a hiking trail just outside DC last week — just four days after being released from jail for indecent exposure. In that case, he was released early after serving only half of a 50-day sentence because of “good behavior,” officials said.
In her first known contact with law enforcement in 2017, 14-year-old Navarrette Romero reported that he fondled her and exposed himself to her nieces, who were 10 and 13 at the time — but the family declined to press charges. Did it and protested against the authorities. ‘An effort was made to investigate, police reports state.
In 2022, he engaged in deviant behavior in and around the National Mall in Washington, including telling police he wanted to die by “suicide by cop”, entering a restricted area of the White House, and diving into a water fountain . National Museum of American Indian History, sources said.
Records show that in June of that year, he slapped a woman on the back in a restaurant – then tried to strangle a policeman and hit another in the face. He remained in jail for eight days, then committed another violence the following month including simple assault, trespassing and smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol in public.
Records show he spent six months in jail through January 2023 and was arrested again in June for allegedly drunkenly urinating on a World War II memorial in DC.
He would reportedly continue to commit even more acts of indecent exposure and assault, until he was finally charged with rape and kidnapping on 14 November. Just four days after getting early release from prison, he was serving half of a 50-day sentence for exposing himself. To a woman walking her dog.
An attorney with the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office told The Post that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is notified whenever an illegal immigrant is held in their adult detention center — four times in Navarrete Romero’s case. But a warrant from the agency was never issued or taken into custody.
When contacted by The Post, ICE would not confirm or deny that account from the county sheriff’s office, nor whether they knew about Navarrete Romero’s illegal status.
Now officials like Virginia’s governor, Glenn Youngkin, are pointing the finger at ultra-liberal Fairfax County for taking a soft stance on immigrant crime and refusing to cooperate with immigration authorities even for those who are dangerous repeat offenders. .trust policyWhich effectively makes it a sanctuary county.
Youngkin (R-Va.) said the county has made law-abiding citizens less safe.
“I am deeply saddened for this victim and outraged that local Fairfax County officials recklessly released violent illegal immigrants who should have been prosecuted and deported,” the Republican governor told The Post Sunday. Should have been done.”
“This is an affront to their most basic duty of keeping people safe. Prioritizing violent illegal immigrants over the safety of Fairfax residents is unacceptable.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares indicted Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano.
“Steve Descano needs to apologize to his community and tender his resignation because of his continued missteps and failures,” Miyares told The Post.
Descano prosecuted a case involving Navarrete Romero in 2022, when he was accused of assaulting a Herndon police officer. Descano pleaded guilty to the charge as a misdemeanor assault without any input from Herndon police.
“This was a violent act of rape which was completely preventable. Shame on those who chose convenience and politics over public safety and integrity. Fairfax County deserves prosecutors protecting its interests, not a group of social workers protecting criminals, Miyares said.
Descano spokeswoman Laura Birnbaum Navarrete stood by Descano’s handling of Romero’s case, telling The Post that “he was prosecuted, convicted of charges that reflect the facts of the case, and he Spent my time.”
A spokesperson for ICE’s DC Enforcement and Removal Operations office said the agency had interviewed the accused rapist and taken him into custody more than a week after the crime occurred.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations interviewed Dennis Humberto Navarrete-Romero, 31, an unlawfully present Honduran citizen, on November 26,” the office said Tuesday.
“The same day, ICE ERO conducted an immigration detainer at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Navarrete entered the United States on an unknown date at an unknown location and without entry by an immigration officer,” the statement concluded.
Navarrete Romero is being held in the Fairfax County Jail awaiting a March 5 hearing. His lawyer, Thomas F. Korner declined The Post’s request for comment.
Additional reporting by Jenny Tarr
(TagstoTranslate)US News(T)Glenn Youngkin(T)Illegal Immigrants(T)Rape(T)Virginia
