A 37-year-old Brazilian national convicted of raping a 5-year-old child in his home country was apprehended near his West Tisbury residence by deportation officers with Boston’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (EPO) last week.
Saulo Cardoso Ferreira is wanted by Brazilian authorities for failure to serve his 14-year sentence and fleeing his home country after receiving multiple criminal convictions related to the rape of a vulnerable child in 2019.
According to a press release issued by EPO Monday, Ferreira “unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date, at an unknown location, and without being inspected or admitted by an immigration official.”
Immigration officials say EPO Boston’s Fugitive Operations Team South were alerted of Ferreira’s presence on Martha’s Vineyard on Sept. 28, and apprehended him without incident during a vehicle stop in West Tisbury on Nov. 14 where he was served with a Notice to Appear before a Department of Justice (DOJ) immigration judge.
Ferreira remains in ERO custody pending his removal proceedings.
“This undocumented Brazilian national represented a significant threat to the inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons said in the federal release. “He sexually assaulted a five-year-old child in his homeland and then ran from authorities when held accountable for his actions.”
“ERO Boston will not allow such predators to threaten our residents. We will continue to apprehend and remove anyone who attempts to use our New England community as a refuge from justice.”
