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Federal immigration officials are urging New York authorities not to release a 59-year-old Salvadoran man accused of raping a 16-year-old girl on Long Island, warning that he should be turned over to ICE if released from local custody.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Thursday it has placed an immigration detainer against Aureliano Antonio Melendez Reyes, who is accused of rape, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child in Suffolk County.
According to prosecutors and DHS, the alleged attack occurred on June 6 as the girl was walking home to Huntington.
Authorities said Reyes repeatedly approached the girl and asked for her phone number. After she refused, he allegedly took her to an alley and sexually assaulted her.
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Federal immigration officials have filed a detainer against Aureliano Antonio Melendez Reyes, who is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl on Long Island. (James Carbone/Newsday RM via Getty Images; Department of Homeland Security)
According to DHS, the girl was eventually able to break free and call 911 while running away from Reyes, who was reportedly chasing her.
Responding officers took Reyes into custody.
“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement.
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Aureliano Antonio Melendez Reyes, 59, has been charged with rape, sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child in Suffolk County, New York. (Department of Homeland Security)
“A 16-year-old girl should be able to walk away safely without being targeted, followed, and brutally attacked. My office will continue to vigorously prosecute defendants who pose a serious threat to the safety of our community, especially our children.”
According to DHS, Reyes entered the United States illegally at an unknown date and location and was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge in 1998.
“This sexual predator should never have been in our country and should have been able to prey on this innocent girl,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Biss said in a statement.
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A Suffolk County Police vehicle at an investigation scene in Suffolk County, NY, with red lights flashing at night. (Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Biss added, “DHS is committed to calling on Governor Kathy Hochul and her fellow sanctuary politicians in New York not to release this criminal illegal alien from prison and turn him over to ICE.”
He said, “New York sanctuary politicians should not be releasing criminals from prison into New York communities.”
DHS said the New York jurisdiction has released nearly 7,000 criminal illegal immigrants through January 20, 2025.
According to the agency, many of those individuals were charged with violent crimes, including murder, assault, theft and drug crimes.
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DHS also said that more than 7,000 individuals are currently in active federal immigration detention in New York custody.
Fox News Digital has contacted Hochul’s office and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office for comment.
