Saul Castillo-Crespo, a 28-year-old Mexican citizen, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to illegally re-entering the United States after being deported. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Castillo-Crespo, also known as “David Crespo,” was previously convicted in August 2017 in D.C. Superior Court for kidnapping and sexually abusing an intoxicated stranger in Northwest Washington. He received a five-year prison sentence for that crime.
After serving his sentence, Castillo-Crespo was deported to Mexico in January 2023. However, he returned to the United States illegally in March 2025 and failed to register as a sex offender as required by law. Local law enforcement arrested him in June 2025.
Judge Timothy J. Kelly has set sentencing for March 13, 2026.
“This individual sexually assaulted a victim and got deported a few years ago, just to sneak back into the U.S. illegally,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “I will not allow this brazen defiance of our immigration laws to continue, especially from criminals who commit the most heinous illegal acts.”
Court documents indicate that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) learned about Castillo-Crespo’s arrest by Metropolitan Police Department officers on June 27, 2025; at that time he was charged with unlawful entry and destroying property under the alias “David Crespo.” Law enforcement fingerprinted him on July 16, and the FBI identified him as Castillo-Crespo through those fingerprints, confirming his identity as someone previously deported.
The original sexual assault took place on May 7, 2017 near Lafayette Square in downtown Washington when Castillo-Crespo encountered an extremely intoxicated woman who wanted to go home. He took her by taxi to his apartment building on Seventh Street NW and then carried her into a staircase where he sexually assaulted her; surveillance cameras captured some of these actions inside the building.
The case is being investigated by ICE and the Metropolitan Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Satter.
