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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement immediately issued a detainer, for deportation purposes, after Juan Nimacachi, 39, was arrested and sent to the Bergen County Jail on Wednesday, May 17, records show.
Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said detectives from his Special Victims Unit zeroed in on Nimacachi after being alerted by the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency on Tuesday.
Working with Lodi police, the investigators found that Nimacachi -- who works as a car washer -- “sexually assaulted the child when the child was between 13 and 16 years old, and again after the child turned 16,” Musella said.
They charged Nimacachi with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated criminal sexual contact and criminal sexual contact.
Officials from ICE immediately issued the detainer, which will hold Nimacachi in the county lockup -- without exceptions -- until their agents can take custody of him.
He'll then be brought before a U.S. District Court judge in Newark to determine his immigration status and whether he should be immediately deported.
ICE seeks such detainers whenever immigrants suspected of living illegally in the United States are jailed.
If a local judge were to order Nimacachi’s release for some reason -- say, New Jersey's bail reform law -- federal authorities would still have another 48 hours to come and get him from the jail.
Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton has honored detainer requests for defendants who've been charged with or convicted of felonies but not for those seized solely for possible deportation.
ICE has the option of taking custody of Nimacachi as soon as possible, waiting until his case is resolved – or even waiting until after he serves out a sentence should he be convicted or take a plea.
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