Man in the US illegally who allegedly raped a woman has a long criminal history

WASHINGTON (7News) — A man who police say is in the United States illegally is accused of raping a woman on a road considered safe and family-friendly in Herndon, Virginia.

7News has learned that the man had been arrested multiple times before the rape, and that local and federal authorities had repeatedly allowed him to remain in the Washington, DC-Virginia area.

According to court documents, on Nov. 18, a woman was walking home when a man pulled her behind bushes on the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail in Herndon and raped her.

Police say 31-year-old Denis Humberto Navarette Romero raped the woman and was in the United States illegally.

RELATED | Man arrested for sexually assaulting woman on W&OD Trail in Herndon: Police

Police said the attack happened shortly before 9 p.m., when a passerby called 911 on the road between Ferndale Boulevard and Grace Street to report a woman being raped.

“In the over 12 years that I have been here as chief, we have not had a rape by a stranger,” Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard told 7News. “There must be full prosecution so this never happens again.”

Navarette Romero is unemployed and receiving public assistance, according to court documents.

According to court documents and documents obtained by 7News through a public records request, Navarette Romero has been accused of various crimes in the past; these included sex crimes in DC and resisting arrest in DC and Virginia. trespassing, driving a stolen vehicle, weapons violations, smoking and smoking marijuana in public, loitering, and exposure to incidents.

“We have now determined that there is an allegation that he sexually assaulted several children in 2017,” DeBoard told 7News.

That’s not all.

“He had committed two felonies where he basically grabbed a woman that we were looking for, that we sent to investigate sexual assault, and assaulted two of my police officers when we encountered this person when we went to investigate the case,” DeBoard said. “He was accused of being present, serious crimes.”

“So was he found guilty of two crimes?” Minock asked DeBoard.

“No, because after a few months this case became a simple assault and a misdemeanor,” DeBoard replied. “We were not asked to provide information about this. As you know, my officers were victims in that incident. “We would hope that the victims would be asked for their input on this matter, and we would certainly not accept this being reduced to a misdemeanor.”

The police chief hopes he will be held accountable and sentenced to prison for the rape police say he committed.

“The problem with deporting him right now is there is a strong possibility he will come back to this country,” DeBoard said. “The danger is that if he is not held accountable for his crimes here and is deported, there will be no way to stop him from returning to the country.”

DeBoard also encourages Herndon residents who are not legally in the United States to call his office if they are the victim of a crime or have information about a crime in their community.

“My job as a police chief here is to protect everyone in this community, including people who cannot be here legally,” DeBoard said. “And part of the problem we have is: How do I protect that group, that group of immigrants, who can’t be here if they don’t report to us? Part of the message here is that we don’t want anyone to feel unsafe here, and that includes the undocumented community here, so it’s important to know that if they’re asking for help, we’re not going to turn them over to ICE. . We would never do this. Our goal is to remove from the community the people who prey on everyone in town, and we can’t do that without your cooperation. So I hope they will trust us.”