Man who raped Kansas girl 13 years ago while in U.S. illegally faces new charges

A Mexican immigrant illegally in the United States faces new federal charges after he was released from a Kansas prison, where he had been held for about 13 years after a child rape conviction.

Simon Rochel-Cervantes, 46, a citizen of Mexico, is charged in federal court with unlawfully re-entering the U.S. after being deported, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said Tuesday in a news release.

Rochel-Cervantes had been in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections since 2006, when he was convicted in Sedgwick County of raping a child younger than 14. Prison system records show he was released on parole on March 5, the same day he was taken into custody by federal immigration agents.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation sex offender registry shows he is currently housed in the Butler County Jail.

Sedgwick County prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint that he had sex with an 11-year-old child on Jan. 1, 2006, then intimidated witnesses. Documents filed in district court indicate the child was a girl. Rochel-Cervantes pleaded no contest later that year to rape and aggravated intimidation of a witness.

A no contest plea means the defendant does not admit guilt, but acknowledges that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to prove guilt. It is treated like a guilty plea in further court hearings.

Rochel-Cervantes was sentenced to 165 months — over 13 years — in state prison with three years of post-release supervision.

A deportation officer wrote in a federal court affidavit that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents investigated Rochel-Cervantes in 2007, while he was being held in the Ellsworth Correctional Facility. An immigration detainer was placed on him after agents determined he had previously been deported. He was taken into immigration custody after he was released from the Hutchinson Correctional Facility earlier this month.

Rochel-Cervantes was deported to Mexico in February 2000, according to federal court documents. They don’t specify when he illegally re-entered the country before the 2006 child rape conviction.

If convicted of unlawful re-entry, he faces up to two years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000, federal prosecutors said.

This story was originally published March 26, 2019 at 8:30 PM.