An illegal immigrant from El Salvador has been sentenced to 30 years for repeatedly raping an 11-year-old girl in Virginia Beach, local officials said Wednesday. 

The Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office shared Ricardo Leonel Mejia’s custody status on X and cited “numerous public inquiries” about Mejia’s case.

“Mejia, a citizen of El Salvador, will serve his 30-year sentence at the Virginia Department of Corrections before being transferred to ICE custody,” the post read.

The case has sparked debate among Virginia’s leaders who are disputing whether the state should limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. 

ICE HAULS IN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF CHILD CRIMES IN NATIONWIDE WEDNESDAY SWEEP: ‘CLEAR MESSAGE’

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger says that one of her first acts in office would be to reverse Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s immigration enforcement policies making Virginia a “sanctuary state,” according to the Republican Governors Association. 

This policy would prevent local law enforcement from assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in cases like Mejia’s, where ICE has issued a detainer for an undocumented immigrant convicted of serious crimes.

Virginia GOP governor candidate, Winsome Earle-Sears reacted by sharing a post on X and said she was “sickened beyond words.” 

‘SANCTUARY CITY’ RAID ROUNDS UP OVER 200 MIGRANT CRIMINALS: ICE

Meija, 35, was convicted of multiple counts of raping a child under 13, indecent liberties with a minor, and statutory burglary after pleading guilty in Virginia Beach Circuit Court, according to documents seen by Fox News Digital.

The assaults happened in 2024, when Mejia was hired to renovate a family’s bathroom.

The abuse came to light when the victim’s mother discovered him in her daughter’s bed after forcing open a locked door with a butter knife. 

DHS ARRESTS FIVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF SERIOUS CRIMES, INCLUDING MURDER AND CHILD ABUSE

The Virginia Beach Sheriffs Office said Mejia, a citizen of El Salvador, will serve his 30-year sentence at the Virginia Department of Corrections before being transferred to ICE custody. (Google Maps)

Mejia fled the home through a window, but was later identified and arrested.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed Mejia was in the country illegally and has issued a detainer. 

Following his sentence at the Virginia Department of Corrections, ICE said he will be transferred to custody for further proceedings.

During his sentencing, Mejia apologized to the victim, saying, “I know I am not the only one experiencing hard times. I’m sorry for the pain she is going through in this process.”

Records show Mejia was booked into the Virginia Beach Correctional Center on Oct. 9, 2024.

Fox News Digital reached out to Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
 

The suspect charged with causing the deadly Palisades Fire in Southern California will remain in the custody of U.S. marshals without bail ahead of trial.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathan W. Hill cited 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht’s mental health, unsteady income and complicated relationship with his family as reasons for the decision on Thursday in Orlando, Florida.

Three of Rinderknecht’s siblings – two sisters and one brother – sat in the second row during the hearing. One of his sisters started crying after the judge made his ruling. 

Federal officials said during a news conference on Wednesday that Rinderknecht was arrested in Melbourne the previous day. Rinderknecht is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Day, which kept burning underground and reemerged as the Palisades Fire due to strong winds on Jan. 7. 

WHO IS JONATHAN RINDERKNECHT, PALISADES FIRE SUSPECT ACCUSED OF SPARKING DEADLY BLAZE?

Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, was arrested at his home in Melbourne, Florida, on Oct. 7, 2025, on charges of causing the Palisades Fire. (X/@USAttyEssayli)

Rinderknecht was an Uber driver, and he was described by two passengers as “agitated and angry” the night he was accused of starting the fire, a criminal complaint obtained by Fox News said.

A sketch of Jonathan Rinderknecht inside federal court in Orlando, Florida, Thursday, October 9, 2025. Rinderknecht is facing charges for allegedly starting a New Year’s Day fire that killed 12 people in Pacific Palisades, California. (Neftali Melendez)

Officials said during the news conference that he was a resident of Palisades and was familiar with the neighborhood. He allegedly used an “open flame” to ignite the blaze after just having dropped off passengers. 

ARREST MADE IN CONNECTION TO DEADLY PACIFIC PALISADES FIRE, SOURCES SAY

Jonathan Rinderknecht’s siblings walk arm in arm past reporters outside the U.S. District Court in Orlando on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (Fox News)

An Uber spokesperson told Fox News Digital the company has “partnered closely with the ATF to determine the driver’s whereabouts on and around Jan. 1” and that its “GPS data placed him near the location of the start of the Lachman fire on Jan. 1.”

An aerial view of beachside homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire along Pacific Coast Highway on January 16, 2025, in Malibu, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Rinderknecht’s access to the Uber platform was revoked once Uber learned of his suspected involvement in the fire, the company said. 

All Uber drivers “must pass a state-mandated background check in order to drive with Uber and are rescreened annually,” the Uber spokesperson said.

Fox News’ Andre Tinoco, Bill Melugin and Matt Finn contributed to this report. 

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) has overruled the school’s student government after it voted to block students from starting a Turning Point USA chapter on campus.

“As part of the process of becoming a Registered Student Organization at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the Dean of Student’s Office has completed its review of a group of students’ application to establish a chapter of Turning Point USA on campus,” Jay Blackman, vice chancellor of communications and marketing at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

“The Dean of Students’ Office has determined that Turning Point USA is approved as a Registered Student Organization,” Blackman said. 

PETITION LAUNCHES FOR RUTGERS TO DISBAND SCHOOL’S TPUSA CHAPTER

The university’s student government had voted against the students starting the chapter, whose 31-year-old founder and CEO, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University during his “American Comeback Tour.” 

“While the Student Government Association may voice opinions, recognition of student organizations is determined by the UTC Dean of Students and Chancellor,” Blackman said. “Turning Point USA has been authorized in accordance with university policy and the law.”

In a Wednesday post on X before Blackman made the announcement that the group would be approved after it was rejected by the student government, trial lawyer Robert Barnes took to X (formerly Twitter) to criticize the school’s rejection.

TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENT VOWS TO RESTORE CHRISTIAN VALUES ON CAMPUS WITH TPUSA

Charlie Kirk speaks before he is assassinated during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)

“My hometown school — @UTChattanooga — apparently told students they cannot form a campus chapter of @TPUSA due to false claims of ‘hate speech,’” Barnes said. “If this is not reversed immediately, I will sue the school for the students, and win. And UTC will pay the bill. Fix it now!” 

Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon replied to Barnes’ X post, writing, “Let us know what happens.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Barnes said, “Many thanks to all those who spoke out & special thanks to AAG Dhillon, who publicly voiced support for us. That was the gamechanger.” 

FLORIDA VOWS LEGAL ACTION AGAINST ANY EFFORTS TO BLOCK TPUSA CHAPTERS ON CAMPUS

Turning Point USA is a national conservative youth organization founded by Charlie Kirk in 2012 with a stated mission to promote “free markets and limited government” on college campuses. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Turning Point USA is a national conservative youth organization founded by Kirk in 2012 with a stated mission to promote “free markets and limited government” on college campuses.

The UTC decision follows several recent controversies involving TPUSA chapters at other universities, including Rutgers, where students have accused administrators or peers of political bias against conservative groups.