HIDALGO, TEXAS—Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Hidalgo International Bridge arrested an Edinburg, Texas man wanted by the Larimer County, Colorado Sheriff's Office for sexual assault of a child.
The arrest occurred early Tuesday morning just after midnight on April 3, 2013 when CBP officers encountered Pablo Esau Peralta Martinez, age 23, attempting to enter the U.S. as a pedestrian at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge. A CBP officer at primary inspection discovered a possible active warrant on Peralta Martinez. After securing him and escorting him to secondary, subsequent biometric checks through law enforcement and CBP databases confirmed the outstanding warrant for sexual assault of a child from Colorado. The incident, which allegedly occurred in June 2012 involved a seven-year-old girl and he was charged with one count of sexual assault of a child/inappropriate touching, a fourth degree felony.
CBP arrested the fugitive and subsequently released him to the custody of the Hidalgo Police Department who then transported him to the Hidalgo County Jail where he will await extradition back to Colorado.
"This man wanted for alleged crimes of a sexual nature involving children was identified attempting to enter our country at the border due to our ability to utilize technology such as law enforcement databases," said Efrain Solis Jr., port director, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas. "This is a great example of how CBP assists our law enforcement partners in capturing and arresting wanted fugitives."