The rape prosecution of Brazilian national William Vasconcelos-Dos Santos ended without a trial after prosecutors said the alleged victim remained unavailable and there was no longer enough evidence to proceed. Barnstable Superior Court marked the charges not prosecuted on Sept. 21, the Cape Cod Times reported. Vasconcelos-Dos Santos, who was 21 when arrested, had spent roughly a year and a half in custody as the case moved through the courts.
Falmouth police arrested Vasconcelos-Dos Santos on Jan. 20, 2025. He was arraigned that day in Falmouth District Court on three counts of rape and one count of giving liquor to a person under 21, according to Cape Cod Times. He pleaded not guilty, the paper reported in a separate story.
An ICE immigration detainer was lodged against Vasconcelos-Dos Santos on the day of his arraignment. Falmouth District Court released him into ICE custody the next day, Jan. 21. The case’s earlier history dates to April 2024, when U.S. Border Patrol arrested him near San Diego after he illegally entered the country and charged him with illegal entry. He was released without bail and issued a notice to appear before an immigration judge.
The separate immigration process
ICE says it makes a custody determination after a person is transferred into its custody, so the end of the state case alone does not establish what happened in Vasconcelos-Dos Santos’ immigration case, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agency also says an immigration detainer does not automatically mean a person will be deported and that people ICE encounters are entitled to due process, according to ICE.
From Falmouth District Court to Barnstable Superior Court
A Barnstable grand jury indicted Vasconcelos-Dos Santos on the rape charges on March 7, 2025, according to the Cape Cod Times account. He was first held at Plymouth County Correctional Facility, then moved that March to Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne, where he remained in ICE custody while the criminal case proceeded.
Attorney Paul Lonardo-Roy was appointed to represent Vasconcelos-Dos Santos on March 10, 2025. On Sept. 21, Barnstable Superior Court marked all charges not prosecuted, the Cape Cod Times reported.
Prosecutors Say Alleged Victim Could Not Be Reached
Court records cited in the Cape Cod Times report say prosecutors made multiple calls to the alleged victim and family members to arrange a meeting ahead of trial. Prosecutors ultimately believed the alleged victim likely did not wish to proceed with the prosecution and remained unavailable, the report said.
In a phone interview on Oct. 29, Lonardo-Roy told the Cape Cod Times that ICE cannot hold a person whose state court case has been dismissed. He said he did not know Vasconcelos-Dos Santos’ current whereabouts, leaving his status after the Barnstable proceedings unclear.
