A 37-year old Guatemalan national who reentered the U.S. after being previously deported in 2022 and wanted on charges of rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery in Alocoa, Tennessee was arrested last week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Horacio Mejia-Villegas (pictured above) was arrested by ICE Knoxville agents on Thursday, February 13, the White House announced.
Mejia-Villegas’ criminal history includes rape of a child, assault with a weapon, hit and run, domestic violence, and obstructing police.
Court documents and information from the U.S. Marshals obtained by WBIR reveal that Mejia-Villegas was arrested in Lexington, Kentucky where he fled to evade charges of rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery he faces in Alcoa stemming from incidents that allegedly occurred in 2019.
WBIR also confirmed with the Blount County Sheriff’s Department that Mejia-Villegas was deported to Guatemala on unrelated charges in December 2022, however, re-entered the U.S. sometime after and was “staying with family.”
Mejia-Villegas was arrested while working at a restaurant in Lexington. At the time of his apprehension, Mejia-Villegas reportedly gave law enforcement a fake name in an effort to evade arrest.
He now awaits extradition back to Tennessee to face the charges in Alcoa and has been flagged for deportation.
“Tennessee residents can sleep easier tonight now that this child rapist with a history of violence is off their streets, thanks to ICE Knoxville officers,” ICE wrote in a post published to X.
One day before Mejia-Villegas’ arrest, another previously-deported illegal migrant convicted of sexual battery was arrested in Tennessee.
Jose Alfredo Melendez-Hernandez, who was deported and removed from the U.S. in 2009 following a conviction for sexual battery in Texas, was indicted in federal court last Monday for violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) and Reentry of a Deported Alien.
Melendez-Hernandez was taken into custody at a residence on Cades Loop Road in Trenton. At the time of his apprehension, the U.S. Marshals Service said Melendez-Hernandez failed to comply with commands to exit, leading to law enforcement breaching the door of the residence.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Horacio Mejia-Villegas” by ICE.
