Man from El Salvador arrested for sexual battery
The arrest of an El Salvadoran man at a restaurant here on sexual battery charges Thursday led to the further arrest of seven individuals who were in the country illegally..
The man, Jose Rigoberta Mejia-Cubias, age 37, of El Salvador, was arrested and charged with sexual battery of a physically helpless person and tampering with evidence, Madison Police Lieutenant Micah Taylor said.
Jose Rigoberta Meija-Cubias will be housed at the Madison County Detention Center as he awaits his initial appearance in the City of Madison Municipal Court, Taylor said. Mejia-Cubias’s case will then be presented to the Madison County Grand Jury before District Attorney John 'Bubba' Bramlett.
Taylor said ICE has placed a detainer on Meija-Cubias as he was previously deported from the United States in 2010.
“Due to the nature of the case and its victim, there will be no other information released at this time,” Taylor said.
On Jan. 30, at approximately 1:20 a.m. the Madison Police Department received a call regarding a female who had been sexually assaulted at Fernando's Restaurant located at 121 Colony Crossing Way in the city limits of Madison, Taylor said.
Investigators with the Madison Police Department began investigating the sexual assault which led to the arrest of Mejia-Cubias.
Taylor said Mejia-Cubias was located at Fernando’s Restaurant where he was taken into custody while a search warrant was being conducted at the establishment.
“During the course of the search warrant, Investigators came into contact with several suspected illegal aliens that were employed at the restaurant,” Taylor said. “U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) responded to the scene and took a total of seven illegal aliens into custody.”
These arrests come after a reported 29 indiividuals were brought through the Madison County Detention Center between Monday, Jan. 20, when President Donald J. Trump was inaugurated for his second term, and Tuesday, Jan 28, on charges of being in the country illegally.
Individuals arrested by federal agencies ranging from the FBI to ATF to ICE are typically held at the Madison County jail, though their arrest could have taken place in another jurisdiction.
Madison County Sheriff Randy Tucker said they are merely a holding facility for the feds and have no information about any of the arrests or their case dispositions.