Image Credit: DHS 
An illegal alien accused of horrific child sex crimes and kidnapping is back in local custody after officials ignored a federal immigration detainer and released him onto the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina.
On Nov. 7, 2024, the family of a 14-year-old girl reported her missing in Mecklenburg County, NC, after she was picked up at school by an unknown adult male the day before, according to court documents.
The victim’s family members discovered the girl had met the suspect on Instagram and provided that information to investigators.
Incredibly, the girl was apparently never located by authorities, but was eventually brought back to her mother’s home by the suspect on Jan. 18, 2025 — more than two months after her initial disappearance.
Days later, the victim told police the suspect had “drugged, sexually assaulted, and held her against her will in his unknown apartment located in Charlotte, NC.”
She said the suspect even threatened to kill her on one occasion when she stepped outside of his residence.
On Feb. 7, 2025, Arnol De Jesus Guevara-Lopez, 21, was taken into custody by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office on a slew of charges, including statutory rape of a child under 15 years of age, indecent liberties with a child, kidnapping, driving after consuming, and driving while impaired.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immediately lodged a detainer request for Guevara-Lopez, but he posted bond the following month and was released back into the community on Mar. 27, 2025.
“This pedophile was re-arrested on February 10, 2026, after he failed to meet conditions of bond, and ICE has lodged another detainer request,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) explained in a statement to Border Hawk.
DHS is now urging officials in the sanctuary county to allow ICE to take custody of Guevara-Lopez.
“These are the types of monsters North Carolina sanctuary politicians are protecting from immigration enforcement and RELEASING from their jails into our neighborhoods to prey on American children,” said outgoing DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
“This is a perfect example of why sanctuary policies make Americans less safe. We are calling on Charlotte sanctuary politicians to commit to turning this child rapist over to ICE, so he can never walk American streets again. Sanctuary politicians must stop releasing pedophiles and rapists into our neighborhoods.”
Sanctuary policies have led to the releases of more than 1,400 criminal illegal aliens from North Carolina jails.
