BOSTON — A 38-year-old Guatemalan national accused of forcibly raping a 10-year-old girl for years is in federal custody after posting bail at a Massachusetts courthouse, according to federal immigration authorities and court officials.
Maynor Francisco Hernandez-Rodas, of Lowell, is charged with aggravated rape of a child and rape of a child with force, court documents show.
Lowell Police arrested Hernandez-Rodas, a father of four who works as a construction worker and soccer referee, on the charges on June 14. He was arraigned on the charges in Lowell District Court the day of his arrest.
Superior Court Justice Kenneth Salinger allowed the conditional release of Hernandez-Rodas on $1,000 cash bail, according to a Findings and Order on Motion for Detention dated Sept. 17 and signed by Salinger.
Conditions for his release included that Hernandez-Rodas live with his brother, not have any contact with the alleged victim or her immediate family, stay out of the city of Lynn, enforced by GPS device, and not have any unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18, with the exception of his son, court documents show.
Hernandez-Rodas was released on bail on Sept. 20, and he was immediately taken into custody by federal immigration officers who were present at the courthouse, according to the Trial Court.
“Maynor Francisco Hernandez-Rodas stands accused of horrific crimes against a Massachusetts child,” Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia Hyde said in a statement. “He represents a significant danger to the children of our community that we will not tolerate.”
Hernandez-Rodas remains in federal custody, according to Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston.
Federal authorities lodged an immigration detainer against Hernandez-Rodas on June 28. Federal immigration authorities lodge immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been arrested for crimes and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement.
Hernandez-Rodas was held without bail after his Sept. 4 arraignment in Middlesex Superior Court on the charges, pending a hearing on the state’s Motion for Pretrial Detention, according to the Trial Court.
On Sept. 19, his brother posted $1,000 cash bail for him at the Middlesex House of Correction. He remained in custody after posting bail to be fitted with a GPS monitoring device, one condition for his release, according to the Trial Court. He was transported to Middlesex County Superior Court in Lowell on Sept. 20 for the GPS unit.
Hernandez-Rodas unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location and without inspection, admission or parole by a U.S. immigration official, Hyde said.
The victim, a 10-year-old girl, told investigators that Hernandez-Rodas began sexually abusing her when she was 5 years old, and that it happened “many times” as she “got older,” according to court documents. A fourth grader, she told police that math is her favorite school subject, that she also enjoys listening to music and that purple is her favorite color.
Court documents detail graphic and disturbing allegations of child rape. The young girl told investigators that Hernandez-Rodas raped her often and over the course of five years, in her home and in her bed.
During one alleged incident earlier this year in May, as detailed in court records, the girl told investigators her infant brother was in the same bedroom nearby when Hernandez-Rodas sexually assaulted her. The girl’s mother later brought her daughter to a Boston hospital for evaluation.
The case highlights the role the courts play in releasing accused criminals who are not U.S. citizens, especially when immigration detainers are lodged against them.
In this case, Middlesex Superior Court officials “ignored ERO Boston’s immigration detainer and released (Hernandez-Rodas) from custody on an unknown date,” Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston said in an earlier statement.
Yet state law prohibits court officers from assisting or interfering with federal immigration officers in these cases, Jennifer Donahue, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Trial Court, said in a statement.
“In order to comply with Massachusetts law, court officers are prohibited from assisting or interfering with ICE agents in executing their obligations under Federal law. That means that a court officer will not interfere with ICE arresting an individual who has been released. On the other hand, court officers are prohibited from keeping a released individual in custody awaiting an ICE agent,” Donahue said.
An immigration detainer is a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ICE as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody, officials said.
Detainers request that state or local law enforcement agencies maintain custody of noncitizens for a period not to exceed 48 hours beyond the time the individual would otherwise be released, allowing ERO to assume custody for removal purposes in accordance with federal law.
ERO officials said detainers are “critical public safety tools” because they focus enforcement resources on foreign nationals who have been arrested for criminal activity.
“Since detainers result in the direct transfer of a noncitizen from state or local custody to ERO custody, they also minimize the potential that an individual will reoffend,” ERO officials said. “Additionally, detainers conserve scarce government resources by allowing ERO to take criminal noncitizens into custody directly rather than expending resources locating these individuals at-large.”
Hernandez-Rodas has served prison time for previous offenses in Connecticut, officials said.
On Sept. 16, 2011, he was convicted for breach of peace in Bridgeport, Connecticut, District Court, officials said. He was sentenced to six months in prison followed by a six-month suspended sentence and one year of probation.
Nearly five years later, on May 15, 2016, Hernandez-Rodas was convicted of breach of peace in the Norwalk, Connecticut, District Court. He was issued a $100 fine.
One abuse prevention order was issued against Hernandez-Rodas in 2019, and expired after 18 days, according to court documents.
In a Middlesex Superior Court filing on Sept. 18, Hernandez-Rodas’ attorney, Brian DeMott, argued that his client should be released from pre-trial detention.
“Maynor Rodas is a devoted parent, as well as a hard working construction worker and soccer referee,” DeMott wrote in his court filing. “He has strong roots in the Boston area and a limited criminal history.”
Hernandez-Rodas was born in Melchor de Mencos, Guatemala, where he “suffered significant physical abuse as a child,” according to biographical information provided in the court filing.
“At 14 he fled his home due to intense pressure to join local drug cartels, and at 17 made his way to the United States, along with his brother,” the filing states.
After initially living in Boston, he moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut. He has three children from a prior relationship, and a fourth child with his current partner. He returned to the Boston area several years ago, and has a Massachusetts driver’s license and health insurance through MassHealth, the filing states.
“Mr. Rodas also works as a soccer referee every Sunday, overseeing a full day of matches,” the Sept. 18 filing states, with DeMott proposing to place him under GPS house arrest at the home of his brother.
Meanwhile, Hyde pledged that her Boston division “will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen threats from our New England neighborhoods.”
Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-347-2423 or completing the online tip form.
Hernandez-Rodas is due back in the Cornelius F. Kiernan Judicial Center in Lowell for a bail hearing on Nov. 14.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2024 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
