The U.S. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) has arrested a Nigerian man for raping a girl he was once convicted for. The 37-year-old man faces deportation to Nigeria.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in a recent statement on its website, disclosed that deportation officers from ERO Baltimore’s Criminal Apprehension Program have detained the 37-year-old man.

ERO office in Baltimore, Maryland, captured the Nigerian on August 2, 2024.

The ERO revealed that the suspect, who migrated lawfully to the country on July 24, 2015, became an illegal immigrant after he allegedly violated the terms of his admission.

The ERO Baltimore acting Field Office Director, Darius Reeves, in the statement, said, “This Nigerian national was arrested for rape and later released, only to commit another sexual crime against the same victim.”

“The noncitizen used despicable predatory tactics to victimize and later re-victimize a Maryland child. ERO Baltimore takes our commitment to our Maryland communities very seriously, and we will relentlessly pursue such offenders who intend harm to our residents.”

The Nigerian man who was on December 20, 2017, charged with rape, was also on February 7, 2019, charged with sex crimes against the same minor.

A Prince George’s County Court in Upper Marlboro sentenced him to 20 years in jail with five years supervised probation for rape. He was also sentenced to 10 years in jail with five years supervised probation for a third-degree sex offence.

The suspect will remain in the custody of the ERO until he is deported to Lagos.