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CT man gets 28 years in prison for child sex crimes. He had to be extradited from Spain

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CT man gets 28 years in prison for child sex crimes. He had to be extradited from Spain


A Connecticut man was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison for child sexual abuse following his extradition from Spain in 2023.

Kristian Ignacio Feliz, 24, of Danbury was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Jane Beckering for sexually exploiting a child, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten said in a statement Thursday.

During sentencing, Beckering recalled the “manipulative” and violent nature of Feliz’s crimes, which she said would impact the victim “for the rest of her life.”

According to court records, in October 2022, Feliz was a 23-year-old graduate student studying quantum physics in Barcelona, Spain. He reportedly struck up an online relationship with a 12-year-old girl living in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

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“Feliz told the girl that he loved her and called her ‘my little wife,’ while at the same time repeatedly pressuring her to create and send him pornographic videos,” court records show.

In January 2023, Feliz traveled to Michigan and reportedly recorded videos of himself abusing the girl in her home over three days, according to court records. After leaving town, Feliz reportedly told the girl to sell the videos online and send the money to his accounts.

Feliz was indicted in March 2023. Spanish Guardia Civil arrested him in June 2023 in Barcelona, at the request of the United States, according to federal authorities. Authorities noted that the extradition proceedings took place in the Spanish judiciary system, “through which Feliz consented to be extradited to the United States in August.”

CT man charged with child sex crimes tracked to Spain. He was brought back to face justice.

“Every child deserves to grow up safe, healthy, and free from abuse,” Totten said. “In this case, a sexual predator living abroad targeted a child in Kalamazoo, traveled here to abuse her, and then left the country. Working closely with state, federal, and international partners, we made sure Feliz was hauled back to Michigan to face justice in our courts. Let today’s sentence serve as a warning that my office takes the protection of children extremely seriously.”

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The FBI and Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety investigated the case and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Department of State helped to secure Feliz’s arrest and extradition in November 2023, officials said.

“Today’s sentencing is a shining example of the brilliant interagency and international coordination between the FBI’s Western Michigan Violent Crime Task Force, the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Government of Spain,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. No matter how far away those who commit these crimes may be, we will use all of our available resources to extradite you to the U.S. to face justice.”



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State police investigating suspicious incident in Burlington

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State police investigating suspicious incident in Burlington


BURLINGTON, Conn. (WFSB) – Connecticut State Police are investigating a suspicious incident at a residence on Case Road in Burlington.

Multiple state troopers and police vehicles were seen at the home conducting an investigation. A viewer reported seeing nine police cars and numerous troopers at the scene.

State police said there is no threat to the public at this time. The investigation is ongoing.

No additional details about the nature of the suspicious incident have been released.

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Ecuadorian national with manslaughter conviction sentenced for illegally reentering United States through Connecticut

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Ecuadorian national with manslaughter conviction sentenced for illegally reentering United States through Connecticut


NEW HAVEN, CT. (WFSB) – An Ecuadorian national with a manslaughter conviction was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for illegally reentering the United States through Connecticut after being deported.

40-year-old Darwin Francisco Quituizaca-Duchitanga was sentenced and had used the aliases Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca and Juan Mendez-Gutierrez.

U.S. Border Patrol first encountered Quituizaca in December 2003, when he used the alias Juan Mendez-Gutierrez and claimed to be a Mexican citizen. He was issued a voluntary return to Mexico.

Connecticut State Police arrested him in March 2018 on charges related to a fatal crash on I-91 in North Haven in March 2017. He was using the alias Darwin Duchitanga-Quituizaca at the time.

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ICE arrested him on an administrative warrant in Meriden in August 2018 while he was awaiting trial in his state case. An immigration judge ordered his removal to Ecuador in September 2018, but he was transferred to state custody to face pending charges.

Quituizaca was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in January 2019 and sentenced to 30 months in prison.

After his release, ICE arrested him again on an administrative warrant in Meriden in August 2023. He was removed to Ecuador the next month.

ICE arrested Quituizaca again on a warrant in Meriden on June 28th, 2025, after he illegally reentered the United States. He pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry on July 30th.

He has been detained since his arrest. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated the case.

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The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations.



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Justice Department sues Connecticut and Arizona as part of effort to get voter data from the states

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Justice Department sues Connecticut and Arizona as part of effort to get voter data from the states


HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Officials in Connecticut and Arizona are defending their decision to refuse a request by the U.S. Justice Department for detailed voter information, after their states became the latest to face federal lawsuits over the issue.

“Pound sand,” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes posted on X, saying the release of the voter records would violate state and federal law.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced this week it was suing Connecticut and Arizona for failing to comply with its requests, bringing to 23 the number of states the department has sued to obtain the data. It also has filed suit against the District of Columbia.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the department will “continue filing lawsuits to protect American elections,” saying accurate voter rolls are the ”foundation of election integrity.”

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Secretaries of state and state attorneys general who have pushed back against the effort say it violates federal privacy law, which protects the sharing of individual data with the government, and would run afoul of their own state laws that restrict what voter information can be released publicly. Some of the data the Justice Department is seeking includes names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.

Other requests included basic questions about the procedures states use to comply with federal voting laws, while some have been more state-specific. They have referenced perceived inconsistencies from a survey from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Most of the lawsuits target states led by Democrats, who have said they have been unable to get a firm answer about why the Justice Department wants the information and how it plans to use it. Last fall, 10 Democratic secretaries of state sent a letter to the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security expressing concern after DHS said it had received voter data and would enter it into a federal program used to verify citizenship status.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a Democrat, said his state had tried to “work cooperatively” with the Justice Department to understand the basis for its request for voters’ personal information.

“Rather than communicating productively with us, they rushed to sue,” Tong said Tuesday, after the lawsuit was filed.

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Connecticut, he said, “takes its obligations under federal laws very seriously.” He pledged to “vigorously defend the state against this meritless and deeply disappointing lawsuit.”

Two Republican state senators in Connecticut said they welcomed the federal lawsuit. They said a recent absentee ballot scandal in the state’s largest city, Bridgeport, had made the state a “national punchline.”



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