POLK COUNTY, Fla. — An undocumented immigrant was arrested in Polk County on charges of sexual battery and child abuse. The suspect will be among the first undocumented immigrants in the state to face enhanced charges due to their immigration status.
Alvaro Alfaro Jimenez, 32, of Guatemala was arrested after a victim contacted the Polk County Sheriff's Office for help. The victim reported she was brought illegally to the U.S. by the suspect in 2019.
Jimenez allegedly took the victim to Michigan and South Carolina before ending up in Mulberry.
According to the PCSO, the suspect didn't enroll the victim in school and kept them enslaved inside the Mulberry home. The victim told detectives Jimenez repeatedly sexually abused them for about three years since the victim was 12 years old.
“For three years, the child was not in school, she was not socialized, she couldn’t speak English, she was a prisoner, and this guy was sexually battering her. She dialed 911, and we went to rescue her, and that’s exactly what we did," said Sheriff Grady Judd.
The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment and is now in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
After the arrest, Jimenez's charges were upgraded one degree due to a new Florida law. That law states that an undocumented immigrant who commits a crime will have the charges upgraded due to being in the United States illegally.
"This is the first case in Polk County where we've upgrade the charges as a result of the very new law that passed. Maybe it's the first in the state of Florida. I don't know, but I know it's the first in Polk County," said Judd.
Jimenez faces four felonies including child abuse causing great harm, negligent child abuse, and others. He is being held on no bond in the Polk County Jail.
