LORDSBURG, N.M. — A man who was convicted of one count of sexual assault on a child in Brighton in 2008 was arrested late last week by U.S. Border Patrol agents as he attempted to enter the U.S. illegally, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Agents working near Lordsburg, New Mexico, received an alert about two possibly lost individuals who had illegally crossed into the United States on foot near a remote area close to Hachita, New Mexico.
They began a search and located the men. Both were examined and required no immediate medical attention, according to the agency.
Both were taken into custody and transported to the station for identification and processing. Once at the station, agents positively identified one of the men as Bernabe Marquez Ponce, a 45-year-old Mexican citizen who had been convicted of two counts of felony assault.
Marquez-Ponce is also a registered sex offender who was previously found guilty for one count of sexual assault against a child and a second count of an assault causing serious bodily injury, according to Border Patrol.
The prior convictions were in Adams County in 2008, the agency said. Marquez-Ponce is being held the Dona Ana County Detention Center in New Mexico pending criminal and removal proceedings.
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