ICE agents in Massachusetts have captured a Brazilian national on the lam after being convicted of a heinous crime. Edimir Gustavo Eckelberg, 62, faced the long arm of the law when Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston officers placed him under arrest in Tewksbury for the rape of a vulnerable child back in his homeland.
Eckelberg's capture ended a manhunt that began after he skirted a 12-year prison sentence for a child rape conviction earlier this year. Skirting judicial retribution, he slinked into the U.S. on a tourist visa back in April, ICE officials told The Boston Herald. But in May, Brazilian authorities, frustrated by his no-show for sentencing, issued a red-hot warrant for his arrest.
“There is no more repulsive and disturbing crime than the sexual assault of a child. We are proud to have apprehended this convicted rapist and will seek to remove him from the United States so that he cannot prey on the members of our community,” stated ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons in comments shared by ICE’s official release. “Convicted foreign fugitives are not welcome here. ERO Boston will not relent in our efforts to locate, apprehend, and remove them from our country.”
The dragnet closed on Eckelberg on November 28, with ERO Boston’s Foreign Fugitive Apprehension Unit operating swiftly and without incident to detain the accused. Placed in ERO's custody, Eckelberg now awaits the legal proceedings.
ICE’s year-end statistics underscore that over 46,000 noncitizens with criminal pasts were hauled in during fiscal year 2022 alone. These individuals bore a staggering 198,498 charges and convictions that spanned violent and predatory offenses, as detailed by The Boston Herald report. Included in the rundown were more than 8,000 sex and sexual assault offenses.
