Haitian National Charged With Sexual Assault Of MA Child: Officials

BOSTON, MA — An 18-year-old Haitian national charged with sexually assaulting a minor in Mansfield was arrested in Attleboro Friday after violating the terms of his lawful entry into the United States, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The man, Akim Marc Desire, was arrested and charged with indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 in Mansfield on Aug. 28. On Aug. 30, Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston arrested him in Attleboro and served him with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge.

He remains in Enforcement and Removal Operations custody.

“Akim Marc Desire allegedly victimized a minor member of our Massachusetts community,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons said Wednesday. “We cannot tolerate such a potentially dire threat to the welfare of children in our community.”

The organization said that “as part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, it lodges immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement.”

An immigration detainer, according to ERO, is “a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody.”

State and local law enforcement agencies are then requested to maintain custody of the noncitizen for under 48 hours beyond the time they would otherwise be released, “allowing ERO to assume custody for removal purposes in accordance with federal law,” officials said.

“ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our New England neighborhoods,” according to officials.