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Previously deported, convicted rapist arrested after entering U.S. illegally

DEL RIO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) – U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a Guatemalan national previously convicted of rape in Louisiana in 2019 after he crossed into Texas from Mexico illegally on July 2. 

Hector Portillo-Soto, 36, was sentenced to three years in prison after the sexual assault and subsequently deported in February 2022.

Portillo-Soto was caught alongside ten other men by Brackettville Station agents as they walked through some brush. Agents  determined that all of the men were present in the United States illegally so they took them back to the station. During processing, record checks revealed Portillo-Soto's prior conviction. 

As a convicted felon with a prior removal, he faces a charge of re-entry after deportation, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

From Oct. 1, 2021 through May 31, Del Rio Sector agents have arrested more than 1,269 criminal migrants, according to U.S. Customs & Border Protection.  

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