ICE arrests man accused of offering to pay minor for sex after being released in Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. — Federal immigration agents have arrested a man in Rhode Island who was recently released from custody after allegedly offering to pay a minor for sex.

Josue Santiago Perez Gomez, 29, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Friday, just one day after he was released on bond following his arrest in Portsmouth.

According to officials, Perez Gomez faces multiple state charges, including patronizing a minor for commercial sex, indecent solicitation of a child, and procurement of sexual conduct for a fee. Authorities say he is in the country illegally and entered the U.S. without documentation.

ICE agents from Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations moved in to detain him after his release from local custody. He is now being held in federal immigration detention as removal proceedings begin.

This is the second ICE arrest of a person in Rhode Island in less than a week. A man was arrested in Providence over the weekend who ICE says is a “self-admitted” member of the violent MS-13 gang.

Ivan Rene Mendoza Meza, 27, a Honduran national, was arrested Sunday on Alverson Street. According to ICE, Mendoza is a “self-admitted “known” member of MS-13 who has committed crimes for the gang and previously entered the U.S. illegally.