Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Rogelio Mendez was sentenced by United States District Judge Sandra Feuerstein to 57 months’ imprisonment for illegally reentering the United States after being deported. After illegally reentering the United States for a second time following his conviction for possessing a loaded firearm, Mendez was convicted in the County Court of Suffolk County of rape. Judge Feuerstein ordered that the sentence imposed today would run consecutively to a 30-month term of imprisonment that Mendez received for his rape conviction.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and William Joyce, Acting Field Office Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), New York, announced the sentence.
“Mendez repeatedly showed contempt for the rule of law by reentering the United States twice after he was first deported," stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “The Department of Justice has made criminal immigration enforcement a priority, and today’s sentence should serve as a deterrent to others who would illegally return to the United States after having been deported." Mr. Donoghue expressed his appreciation to the Town of Southampton Police Department and the United States Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force, Long Island Division, for their assistance with the case.
“Mendez had a past criminal history in the U.S. and was removed twice, but then decided to illegally reenter the country only to commit a more heinous crime," stated ERO Acting Field Office Diriector Joyce. “This man is already incarcerated for his recent rape conviction, and now, thanks for the proactive approach of the men and women of ICE, he will serve a lot more time behind bars for his felony reentry offense."
According to court filings and facts presented during court proceedings, Mendez, a Mexican citizen, was initially deported from the United States in 2004, after he served a two-year New York State prison term for his conviction for possessing a loaded firearm in Queens, New York. Mendez illegally reentered the United States in 2005 and was deported in March 2009. Mendez again illegally reentered the United States from Mexico in 2010. On Sept. 11, 2016, while he was employed at a restaurant in Southampton, New York, Mendez raped a woman at a home that the defendant shared with his co-workers. The defendant pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in February 2017 and was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Bradley T. King is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
ROGELIO MENDEZ (also known as “Rogelio Mendez-Puebla")
Age: 38
Jackson Heights, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-CR-83 (SJF)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
