Guatemalan held as child sex convict
BUTLER TWP — An illegal immigrant who was deported to his native Guatemala in 2011 after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old Nebraska girl faces new charges in Butler County, authorities said.
Edward E. Jacinto, 25, has been in the Butler County Prison since July 7 after Butler Township police arrested him for drunken driving.
Jacinto used a bogus name after being pulled over but officers eventually learned his identity and his status of illegal immigrant with a felony conviction.
Police subsequently learned that he was a registered sex offender in Nebraska — something he failed to tell state police as required under Pennsylvania law.
Township police on Thursday charged Jacinto with two felony counts of failing to register for the sex offender list here.
His bail was increased by $100,000 with the latest charges, which he immediately waived to court rather than have a preliminary hearing before District Judge Kevin O’Donnell.
He also waived Thursday his hearing in the driving under the influence case. In addition to DUI, driving without a license and other traffic violations, he is charged with false identification to police.
Butler Township Police Lt. Matthew Pearson credited a concerned motorist for helping in Jacinto’s capture. The woman, who police did not identify, called 911 about 10:40 p.m. July 6 to report a possible drunken driver.
The woman followed the suspect’s car from Route 68 near the Farm Show grounds until she saw it turn into the Almost Home Motel on New Castle Road. She waited there for police to arrive.
“She was a good witness in this case,” Pearson said Thursday. “We thanked her.”
Police determined that Jacinto had been living at the motel since June. Pearson said he believes the defendant moved here to take a job for a subcontractor in the gas well drilling industry.
Electronic fingerprinting was used to identify him.
Police soon were in contact with authorities from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security. DHS, in turn, filed an immigration detainer on Jacinto at the county prison.
Later, police spoke to the Nebraska State Patrol, who forwarded court papers related to the suspect’s criminal record there.
Jacinto, according to court documents, was convicted in 2009 of first-degree sexual assault in Platte County. The victim in that case was a 14-year-old runaway girl.
He was sentenced to 5 to 8 years in prison. He served two years of that term until being deported in 2011.
Jacinto possibly re-entered the United States in 2014 but Pearson was not certain.
Pearson said DHS officials have informed police that they plan to deport him again. No timetable has been set.
Jacinto’s court-appointed attorney, Ian Walchesky of Cranberry Township, could not be reached for comment this morning.
