Twice-deported illegal immigrant charged with rape as DHS urges Fairfax to honor ICE detainer
Illegal immigrant twice deported from El Salvador charged with rape, kidnapping Northern VirginiaThat’s according to the Department of Homeland Security, which called on Fairfax County officials to honor an ICE detainee and take him into federal custody.
Juan Arevalo Mendez, 46, was arrested June 30 in Prince William County on charges of rape and kidnapping with intent to commit sexual assault stemming from an alleged assault in September 2025, according to DHS.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained a man the same day and asked Fairfax County officials not to release him from custody.
Fairfax County Police say Fox News Digital officers responded on Sept. 19, 2025, to a woman reporting she had been sexually assaulted in the 3800 block of South George Mason Drive in Bailey’s Crossroads about two weeks earlier. Detectives assigned to the department Sexual Crimes Unit He investigated the allegations and obtained an arrest warrant charging Arevalo Mendez with rape and kidnapping.
Juan Arevalo Mendez, a citizen of El Salvador, was arrested in Prince William County on June 30 on rape and kidnapping charges stemming from an alleged attack in Fairfax County in September 2025, according to police. DHS said ICE detained one person the same day.
(Fox News)
Juan Arevalo Mendez, a citizen of El Salvador, was arrested in Prince William County on June 30 on rape and kidnapping charges stemming from an alleged attack in Fairfax County in September 2025, according to police. DHS said ICE detained one person the same day. (Department of Homeland Security)
Members of the Department’s Fugitive Tracking and Apprehension Team arrested Arevalo Mendez on June 30 in Prince William County. He is being held without bail at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, police said.
According to DHS, Arevalo Mendez first entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 1991, but that status was revoked after a 1998 conviction for criminal damage to property. he was Deported in 2003He was later convicted of illegally re-entering the U.S. before being deported again in 2014 and then illegally entering the country a second time at an unknown date and location, the agency said.
DHS said Arevalo Mendez has a criminal history dating back to 1998 that includes convictions for assault, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, assault with a weapon, drug possession, destruction of property, unlawful entry, obstruction of justice and making a false report. The agency said the man was also arrested on allegations such as identity theft, drug possession and theft.
An undated file photo shows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during an enforcement operation. According to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE filed a detention request for Juan Arevalo Mendez following his arrest on June 30 in Fairfax County, Virginia, on rape and kidnapping charges.
“This criminal has been charged with illegal alien rape and abduction. He has a laundry list of previous convictions for aggravated assault, destruction of property, and drug possession, as well as previous arrests for identity theft and burglary,” Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “DHS is calling Governor Abigail Spanberger and his sanctuary politicians in Fairfax County are determined not to release this dangerous criminal from prison and instead turn him over to ICE custody so we can remove him from our nation and end his crime spree.”
The arrest comes months after Fairfax County police detained Arevalo Mendez after a high-speed pursuit on Interstate 495 while he was wanted on aggravated kidnapping charges.
Police said officers attempted to stop a vehicle on a Jan. 13 felony kidnapping warrant, but Arevalo Mendez fled, pursued officers, then abandoned the vehicle and ran into a wooded area, where he was arrested. He was also charged with obstruction of justice, in addition to facing charges of kidnapping, simple assault, petit larceny, failure to appear and assault from another jurisdiction.
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A spokesperson for the Fairfax County State’s Attorney’s Office told Fox News Digital that prosecutors dropped the kidnapping and assault case in January after the woman who reported the incident later lied about the allegations and asked for the charges to be dismissed.
Since there was no third-party witness, “there is no path forward to continue the prosecution,” the spokesperson said, adding that Arevalo Mendez “has not been identified as a suspect in the September incident” that led to the current rape and kidnapping charges while the January trial is ongoing.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger speaks during her inauguration on January 17, 2026, in Richmond. The Department of Homeland Security criticized Spanberger’s immigration policies after ICE detained twice-deported El Salvadoran citizen Juan Arevalo Mendez in Fairfax County.
DHS said ICE’s detainee requests Fairfax County requested that if Arevalo Mendez becomes eligible for release from local custody, it transfer him to federal custody rather than release him.
DHS also noted several recent Virginia cases involving immigrants accused or convicted of violent crimes, arguing that the state had become a “hotbed of violence.” illegal alien crime“Under Spanberger’s management.
Among the cases the agency cited recently, ICE said: Arrests were made against Moises Domingo Rico Rosales, a Nicaraguan citizen, is charged with kidnapping with intent to defile and indecent exposure in Annandale; Jose Nahun Aleman Hernandez, a Mexican citizen, is accused of molesting a 5-year-old girl in Woodbridge; and Cristian Wilfredo Alvarenga Aguilar, who faces charges including car theft, kidnapping, assault and robbery in Herndon.
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DHS also noted the arrest of Guatemalan citizen Misael Lopez Gomez. is accused of murder Anibal Armando Chavarria Muy, whose 3-month-old daughter from Fairfax County and another Guatemalan national were charged with second-degree murder in Bailey’s Crossroads.
A spokesperson for the governor’s office told Fox News Digital that Spanberger “strongly believes that violent criminals who are in the United States illegally should be prosecuted and deported to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Under Governor Spanberger’s leadership, the Virginia Department of Corrections continues its long-standing practice of notifying ICE when individuals born outside the United States are in state custody,” the spokesperson said. “Virginia state law enforcement also continues to participate in task forces and interagency collaboration with federal agencies.
“As a former federal law enforcement official who pursued child predators, Governor Spanberger will always prioritize the safety and well-being of Virginia families,” the spokesperson added.
Original article source: Twice-deported illegal immigrant accused of rape as DHS urges Fairfax to honor ICE detainee
