Home  News Local News Immigration agent jailed
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Thursday, 17 July 2008 |
A former United States immigration agent has been sentenced to seven years in prison for raping a Jamaican immigrant while in detention.
In addition to the prison term imposed on Wilfredo Vazquez, 35, a US federal judge in Florida sentenced him to five years of supervised release.
Prosecutors said that Vazquez, who pleaded guilty to sexual battery, had taken the woman to his home while she was being transferred from the Krome Detention Centre in West Miami-Dade to the Broward Transitional Centre in Pompano Beach on September 21.
He also pleaded guilty to ''placing the woman in fear'' during the sexual encounter.
Vazquez had reached a deal on the eve of trial, avoiding prosecution on the more serious charge of aggravated sexual assault.
''He now understands and regrets that this woman was in fear during the sexual act,'' said Vazquez's attorney, Joel DeFabio.
“As the government stated in court, he never threatened her, struck her or used any physical force against her. He feels very remorseful for the victim and his family,'' DeFabio continued.
Vazquez, a decorated Iraq War veteran who had served in the Air Force for 16 years, was fired by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the woman alleged she was raped at his home in September. He had worked as an ICE agent for less than a year.
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