PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A Guatemalan national accused of sexually assaulting a child in Rhode Island has been arrested, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Felix Meletz Guarcas, 45, was taken into custody by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers on Wednesday, Nov. 20, in Providence.

This comes after the R.I. Department of Corrections released him despite an active immigration detainer, which requested the agency be notified before releasing any removable noncitizen.

“We asked the Rhode Island Department of Corrections to hold Meletz Guarcas so we could take him into custody in their facility, but he was released to home confinement,” Patricia Hyde, acting Field Office Director for ERO Boston, said. “Unfortunately, the Department of Corrections doesn’t turn over home confinement releases, so a team of our officers were forced to arrest him in a public parking lot in Cranston, rather than a controlled environment in a custodial setting.”

It is unclear when or how Meletz Guarcas entered the U.S. without inspection.

He was arrested by Pawtucket police on Feb. 16, 2002, for misdemeanor disorderly conduct and felony assault of police officers. Four months later, he was convicted and sentenced to six months of probation.

On Sept. 3, 2023, Providence police arrested him again, this time on one count of first-degree child sexual assault and five counts of second-degree child sexual assault. Those charges are still pending, according to ICE.

Meletz Guarcas remains in ICE custody pending a hearing before an immigration judge.