As Katie covered, amid the Laken Riley trial, another illegal alien was charged with raping a woman who was walking on a popular running trail. The suspect, a Honduran national living in a "sanctuary" county illegally, is a serial sex offender repeatedly let out of jail on other sex crimes.
Authorities arrested 31-year-old Denis Humberto Navarette-Romero, an illegal immigrant from Honduras, on charges of abduction with intent to defile and rape for sexually assaulting a woman at a public park in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Herndon PD arrested Denis Humberto NAVARETTE ROMERO for abduction with intent to defile and rape, for incident last night on the W&OD Trail bn Ferndale Ave and Grace St. News briefing in HPD's Community Room at 3:00 PM (397 Herndon Pkwy). It will be streamed live on Facebook. pic.twitter.com/3xoDvVkbPR
— Herndon Police (@HerndonPolice) November 19, 2024
Similar to the murder of Laken Riley, who was brutally killed while jogging on the University of Georgia's campus, the attack allegedly happened along the well-traveled Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail around 9 p.m. last Monday.
"I am incredibly saddened and outraged that a crime like this could happen here in the town of Herndon," the city's police chief, Maggie DeBoard, said at a Tuesday press conference addressing Navarette-Romero's arrest. "This is the only stranger rape we have had in the town in my more than 12 years as chief of police."
DeBoard emphasized, "What is disturbing is the number of times this man has been arrested and released. He has continued to offend and his behavior has escalated to a rape in a very public area in our town."
Navarette-Romero has a history of sexual assaults in the area stretching back to at least 2022, including offenses in Herndon prior to Monday night's rape.
The alleged rapist previously choked a Herndon police officer in June 2022 when the cop was responding to a groping incident.
Although the Herndon Police Department (HPD) charged Navarette-Romero with felony assault of an officer, Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano, a Democrat, downgraded the charge to simple assault, a misdemeanor.
"I mean [Navarette-Romero] literally tried to get his hands around our officer's neck trying to choke him so we don't understand that one," DeBoard told FOX 5 DC.
"It's frustrating because I tell the community you should feel safe here, and I do believe they are safe here, I truly do, but when you have cases like this, I look at this and see if some part of the system..." the police chief said. "If it was all working together, if there was a way to make it work, this would never have happened."
In a statement shared with FOX 5 DC, Descano didn't explain his decision to downgrade the charges but noted that Navarette-Romero pled guilty to two counts of assault and battery plus one count of resisting arrest. "He served jail time as a result of these convictions," Descano said. Navarette-Romero was later released.
Last month, Navarette-Romero was once again arrested in Herndon on Oct. 19, this time for indecent exposure, and sentenced to 50 days behind bars. However, he reportedly only spent half of that 50-day sentence in jail. Navarette-Romero was released 25 days early on Nov. 14, thanks to Virginia's "good behavior" law, according to FOX 5 DC. Just four days after he was freed, on Nov. 18, Romeo allegedly went on to rape the woman in Herndon.
In an interview with FOX 5 DC, Jennifer Pugh, the woman who had filed the police report in the prior indecent exposure incident, recounted how he followed her home and exposed himself.
"He didn't speak English and then all of a sudden he started pulling his stuff out," Pugh said of Navarette-Romero. "I said, 'There's Ring cameras all around, you know,' and he didn't care. I was scared."
According to Fairfax County court records reviewed by Townhall, Navarette-Romero's race is listed as "white." He is additionally charged with rape by force/threat.
Navarette-Romero is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on March 5.
The investigation is ongoing and law enforcement believes there are additional rape victims out there.
"I am heartsick for this victim and outraged that local Fairfax County officials recklessly release violent illegal immigrants who should have been prosecuted and deported," reacted Virginia's GOP Gov. Glenn Younkin. "This is a dereliction of their most basic duty to keep people safe. Prioritizing violent illegal immigrants over the safety of Fairfax residents is unacceptable. Virginia is not a sanctuary state. When President Trump takes office, the political posturing will end, and localities will cooperate with ICE to protect Virginians."
I am heartsick for this victim and outraged that local Fairfax County officials recklessly release violent illegal immigrants who should have been prosecuted and deported. This is a dereliction of their most basic duty to keep people safe. Prioritizing violent illegal immigrants… https://t.co/sqKUqbsGeg
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) November 24, 2024
The Fairfax County Sheriff's Office confirmed to Townhall that Navarette-Romero is currently in its custody.
Although the county isn't officially designated a "sanctuary" county, in practice, Fairfax has essentially established itself as one among the illegal alien population. The county has a track record of willfully defying civil U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers, actively obstructing federal immigration enforcement, and putting deportable criminals back out on the streets, giving them the chance to commit more crimes in the community and beyond.
Like a lot of Democrat-led suburbs surrounding the nation's capital, Fairfax County has enacted several "sanctuary" policies shielding illegal aliens from possible deportation and directing personnel not to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
In 2018, the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office terminated its Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) with ICE. Accordingly, "deputies do not participate in, nor provide assistance to, ICE activities out in the community." The department now no longer honors any of ICE's administrative detention requests to hold subjects past their release dates (until federal authorities arrive and can assume custody) unless ICE obtains a court-ordered criminal detainer.
.@fairfaxsheriff terminates intergovernmental service agreement with @ICEgov; will no longer hold inmates past their release date unless an ICE administrative request to detain the inmate is accompanied by a criminal detainer issued by a court. Details: https://t.co/lJ7qDmJ3Up pic.twitter.com/ftxy19wLem
— Fairfax County Government 🇺🇸 (@fairfaxcounty) January 23, 2018
"Each time an individual is arrested and fingerprinted in the Adult Detention Center, ICE is automatically notified of the presence and identity of any undocumented individual who is in our custody," the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office general counsel told Townhall. "In the case of Mr. Navarette-Romero, this would have occurred each time he was arrested and booked into the ADC."
Once that information is received, ICE typically sends the sheriff's office either a detainer or warrant if that suspect is to be turned over to ICE, the representative explained. "To date, the Sheriff's Office has not received an ICE detainer or judicial immigration warrant for Denis Humberto Navarette-Romero for any of the [aforementioned] arrests," she said.
An Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) investigation found that between May 2018 and May 2020, Fairfax County refused to honor more than 900 ICE detainment requests. IRLI asked the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office how many of these warrants fit its definition of a "lawfully issued criminal detainer." To which, the department reportedly replied that only 14 warrants were issued during this two-year period, leaving hundreds effectively denied.
In January, ICE agents arrested an illegal immigrant facing a slew of child sex crimes months after Fairfax County officials freed the alleged pedophile in defiance of ICE's detainment request and without notifying the feds beforehand. After having to hunt the at-large alien down, deportation officers finally nabbed the Honduran national accused of sexually abusing a Virginia minor and producing child pornography.
Fairfax County has since reinforced its "sanctuary" agenda. In 2020, the county unveiled a general order that would further bar inter-agency cooperation between Fairfax County Police Department officers and ICE officials. Additionally, the directive banned local cops from complying with ICE warrants as well as prohibited ICE agents from accessing Fairfax County police buildings.
"Officers may not participate in, or facilitate, the enforcement of federal civil statutes (i.e. immigration laws)," the police order directed. Failure to follow the directive would warrant disciplinary action up to and including termination from the police force.
In 2021, the county's Board of Supervisors passed the Public Trust and Confidentiality Policy to ensure that county employees do not voluntarily cooperate with federal immigration authorities. "Fairfax County does not and will not enforce civil federal immigration laws," says the county's website, which promotes resources for "Our Immigrant Neighbors" like hotlines for illegal immigrants to call if they're detained by ICE in the DMV area and an informational flyer on "What To Do If Immigration Or The Police Come To Your Door."
Fairfax County is welcoming to all who wish to live, work and enjoy our community. We’ve updated our webpage for immigrants with:
— Fairfax County Government 🇺🇸 (@fairfaxcounty) August 8, 2019
➡️Hotlines/links
➡️Citizenship resources
➡️Legal representation pilot program
➡️Statement on diversity/inclusion https://t.co/a4GCW32NWE
The policy also allows illegal immigrants in the community to access benefits and services without fear that the information they share, such as immigration status, will be disclosed to federal officials. Under the county's Chief Equity Officer, the Director of Immigrant Community Affairs conducts a countywide compliance process review once a year to verify that all agencies are in compliance with this policy.
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