MADISON, WIS. - Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Paulino Gonzalez-Zarate, 30, a citizen of Mexico found in Dane County, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 16 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the United States.
Gonzalez-Zarate came to the attention of federal authorities after he was arrested on March 27, 2022 and charged with domestic violence offenses, including strangulation and second-degree sexual assault. He was indicted by a federal grand jury for illegal reentry on May 11, 2022, and he pled guilty to the charge on July 18, 2022.
Chief Judge Peterson noted that this was the second time Gonzalez-Zarate was convicted of illegal reentry and that a 16-month prison term was warranted to deter Gonzalez-Zarate from continuing to reoffend. Judge Peterson ordered that this federal sentence run consecutive to any sentence imposed in the pending state case on the domestic violence offenses, concluding that there should be separate treatment for separate offenses.
The charge against Gonzalez-Zarate was the result of an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith P. Duchemin and Anita Marie Boor prosecuted this case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
