Suspect in Florida applied for asylum a day earlier: Sheriff

A migrant accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a Florida field had done just that applied for asylum just one day before the alleged attack, the local sheriff said.

The Volusia Sheriff’s Office (VSO) was alerted to an attack in progress in Pierson, north of Orlando, when the victim called 911 and pretended to order a pizza from the suspect nearby.

Officers reportedly found 27-year-old Luis Diego Hernandez-Moncayo on top of the woman, who was heard screaming for help in a video released by the department.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Hernandez-Moncayo was in the United States illegally and had an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer in addition to three charges (ICE) placed on him.

The video shared by VSO showed the victim saying, “I’d like to order a pizza” when the 911 operator answered. The dispatcher quickly understood what was happening and located her phone signal.

“She was able to tell us that she was being held down by one person, and that he was not armed,” the sheriff said.

Bodycam footage showed the woman screaming that Hernandez-Moncayo was trying to rape her as they ran toward the suspect.

“If you watch the video, if you’re a father, if you’re a grandfather, if you’re a brother and you hear the screams of our victim, it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up,” Chitwood said.

The woman reportedly knew the suspect, who turned on her after taking a line of cocaine. He became violent and would not let her go before trying to rape her, police said. That’s when the officers arrived.

The sheriff charged him with attempted sexual battery, battery by strangulation and false imprisonment.

Sheriff Chitwood said he was proud of the victim for conveying the information and of his teams for figuring out what was going on and reaching her in a timely manner.

Volusia County Jail records seen by Newsweek showed the suspect was being held on a $12,500 bond.

An immigration detainer, issued by ICE, means the agency can take an illegal immigrant into custody once local law enforcement has released him, be it after a conviction or if he has been released.

The USA Department of Homeland Security The agency will then begin its own removal proceedings, typically keeping the person in its own custody during this period. In FY 2024, from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024, ICE removed 19,557 individuals with a criminal conviction or pending criminal charges.