El Salvador man gets 30 years for raping 11-year-old in Virginia Beach

An unlawful immigrant from El Salvador has been sentenced to 30 years in jail for repeatedly raping an 11-year-old woman in Virginia Seaside, native officers stated Wednesday.

The Virginia Seaside Sheriff’s Workplace shared Ricardo Leonel Mejia’s custody standing on X and cited “quite a few public investigations” into Mejia’s case.

“Mejia, a citizen of El Salvador, will serve his 30-year sentence within the Virginia Division of Corrections earlier than being transferred to ICE custody,” the discharge stated.

The case has sparked debate amongst Virginia leaders, who dispute whether or not the state ought to restrict cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger says certainly one of her first acts in workplace can be to undo Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s immigration enforcement insurance policies, which might make Virginia a “sanctuary state,” in keeping with the Republican Governors Affiliation.

This coverage would forestall native regulation enforcement from supporting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in circumstances like Mejia, the place ICE launched a detainee for an undocumented immigrant convicted of significant crimes.

Winsome Earle-Sears, candidate for governor of the Republican Celebration of Virginia, responded by sharing a submit on

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Mejia was sentenced to 30 years for raping an 11-year-old woman. (Virginia Seaside Sheriff’s Workplace)

Meija, 35, was convicted of a number of counts of rape of a kid underneath 13, indecent liberties with a minor and statutory housebreaking after pleading responsible in Virginia Seaside Circuit Courtroom, in keeping with paperwork obtained by Fox Information Digital.

The assaults occurred in 2024, when Mejia was employed to renovate a household’s rest room.

The abuse got here to mild when the sufferer’s mom discovered him in her daughter’s mattress after breaking open a locked door with a butter knife.

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The Virginia Seaside Sheriff’s Workplace stated Mejia, a citizen of El Salvador, will serve his 30-year sentence within the Virginia Division of Corrections earlier than being transferred to ICE custody. (Google Maps)

Mejia fled the home via a window however was later recognized and arrested.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has confirmed that Mejia was within the nation illegally and has launched a detainee.

Following his sentence on the Virginia Division of Corrections, ICE stated he can be taken into custody for additional proceedings.

Throughout his sentencing, Mejia apologized to the sufferer, saying, “I do know I am not the one one going via laborious instances. I am sorry for the ache she’s going via on this course of.”

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Data present Mejia was booked into the Virginia Seaside Correctional Middle on October 9, 2024.

Fox Information Digital reached out to the Virginia Seaside Sheriff’s Workplace for additional remark.