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A sheriff in the Florida suburbs took to X to voice his outrage over a 24-year-old illegal immigrant allegedly breaking into a local home to conduct an “over-the-top,” “vicious sexual battery” on a 77-year-old woman.
Polk County, Florida, Sheriff Grady Judd blasted Honduran illegal immigrant Axel Antonio Espinal Herrera, who he said is was arrested on charges of committing “one of the most horrific crimes that we’ve seen in this county in a very long time.”
Though the sheriff voiced his frustration that “this couldn’t have occurred if [Herrera] was not in this country,” he promised that his office’s goal is to make sure that Herrera “will be in a United States prison for the rest of his life upon conviction.”
“Sexual battery of an individual is without a doubt one of the most horrific crimes that occurs. And a violent, out-of-control sexual battery on a stranger even elevates that one more level. And then you take on top of that the suspect is in this country illegally, that pushes it over the top,” said Judd.
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According to the sheriff’s office, the sexual assault occurred around 4 a.m. on Saturday. A statement by the office said the elderly victim awoke after a noise and saw an unknown man who entered her bedroom, forcibly removed her clothes and sexually battered her, slapping her when she attempted to get away.
The office said the victim “attempted to escape through the front door when the suspect went into the bathroom, but the suspect chased after her and dragged her back inside and choked her.”
After the assault, the suspect vacated the scene, which is when the victim contacted the sheriff’s office. Sheriff’s Office detectives canvassed the neighborhood and encountered Herrera in a nearby home with two other illegal immigrants also from Honduras.
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Herrera was in the shower when detectives first arrived at the house. The office said that Herrera matched the victim’s description and that clothing described by the victim was found in the home. During the detectives’ search, they found multiple scratches on Herrera’s body consistent with the victim’s statements. He was also found to be in possession of cocaine.
Herrera was arrested and taken to the sheriff’s processing center. He is being charged with kidnapping, sexual battery by force, burglary and battery, tampering with evidence, possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, loitering and prowling. The sheriff’s office also noted that under Florida law, each charge against Herrera is elevated by one category due to his illegal status, meaning he is facing the possibility of multiple life sentences.
The office said it notified U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which placed a detainer on Herrera. The two other illegal immigrants found in the house were also taken into custody on ICE holds.
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Judd did not hold back in his disgust for Herrera’s alleged crimes, calling him a “very violent, very dangerous rapist” and his actions “graphically very vile and out of control.”
“He was a young man, 24 years of age, sexually battering a 77-year-old woman after he broke into her house in the middle of the night. Do I need to say more?” said the sheriff.
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