Zachary T. Lee Acting United States Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia
A citizen of El Salvador, Leonel Hernandez-Zelaya, has been sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for illegal reentry into the United States after being previously removed. Hernandez-Zelaya, 39, pled guilty to the charge of illegal reentry of a previously removed alien.
Court documents indicate that Hernandez-Zelaya was first removed from the United States in September 2007 after being arrested for entering without proper authorization. He was removed again in May 2008 but later returned and lived illegally in the Western District of Virginia and other locations.
In July 2025, Hernandez-Zelaya was convicted in Warren County, Virginia state court for carnal knowledge of a 14-year-old without force. The Warren County Circuit Court sentenced him to five years with all but five months suspended and three years’ probation.
During sentencing, it was noted that Hernandez-Zelaya had sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old on at least three occasions. According to statements presented at the hearing, these acts would not have occurred if he had complied with his removal order and remained in El Salvador.
Robert N. Tracci, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, and Ian Kaufman, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division, announced the sentence. "This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime," they stated.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlene R. Day prosecuted it on behalf of the United States.
