Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested on Friday the father of one of the suspects in a March 16 reported rape at Rockville High School.
Adolfo Sanchez-Reyes, a 43-year-old citizen of Guatemala and the father of Henry Sanchez Milian, was arrested after ICE discovered he was in the country illegally, according to a statement from Matthew Bourke, a spokesman for the agency.
Sanchez Milian, 18, is awaiting trial for reportedly raping a freshman girl in a boys bathroom during school hours at the high school. He and the other suspect, 17-year-old Jose Montano, are facing charges of rape and two counts of sexual assault for what court documents describe as a violent attack in which the victim repeatedly cried out and told them to stop.
Sanchez Milian and Montano are both undocumented immigrants, and the case has triggered a heated debate on immigration.
Sanchez Milian came to the United States from Guatemala last year to live with his father in Aspen Hill, Sanchez Milian’s attorney Andrew Jezic told Bethesda Beat on Thursday. Jezic, whose firm is based in Wheaton, said Sanchez Milian came to the country fleeing gang violence and significant threats to himself and his family.
Sanchez Milian was caught by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Texas in August, but never faced a trial with an immigration judge. If he is found not guilty in the case, he will plead for asylum in the United States, Jezic said.
Montano is from El Salvador and came to the United States eight months ago. He is being tried as an adult. Both Montano and Sanchez Milian are being held on no-bond status.
Sanchez-Reyes has been issued a notice to appear in immigration court, according to the ICE statement. He is currently detained at the Howard County Detention Center in Jessup.