Brazilian Fugitive Wanted For Child Rape Who Fled To U.S. On Tourist Visa Is Deported By ICE

OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
3:40 PM – Monday, March 4, 2024

A Brazilian native who had entered the United States on a tourist visa in order to escape serving a jail sentence for child rape was sent back to his home country in late January, according to a statement released by United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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On Friday, ICE reported that a man who was convicted after raping a minor had entered the United States on a tourist visa. However, he is now currently completing his 12-year jail sentence after being extradited back to Brazil.

On January 26^th, over two months after being taken into custody by ICE agents in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, Edimir Gustavo Eckelberg, 62, was sent back to his native country.

Eckelberg, the Brazilian fugitive, somehow managed to sneak past Brazilian officials, and soon after, boarded a plane to the United States. He was even able to pass through customs at a New York airport in April 2023.

On November 28^th, 2023, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested Eckelberg in Tewksbury. 

According to ICE, Eckelberg fled Brazil for New York in April 2023 on a tourist immigration visa after being found guilty by a Brazilian criminal court of raping an underage child. Nine weeks after receiving a notice to appear before an immigration court of the United States Department of Justice, Eckelberg was taken out of the country.

ICE claimed that after he did not show up to serve a 12-year term for his conviction of child rape, Brazilian authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in May 2023.

Seven months after being granted entry into the United States on a tourist visa, Eckelberg was apprehended by ICE officers in November 2023 while he was attempting to hide out in Boston. The 62-year-old eluded capture when he did not appear for his sentencing hearing in May of that same year.

The wanted man was detained in ERO Boston until January 26^th, when he was flown back to Brazil.

“There is no more repulsive and disturbing crime than the sexual assault of a child,” explained ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “Our New England communities are safer without the presence of Edimir Gustavo Eckelberg, who is now in the hands of Brazilian authorities. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by apprehending and removing such violent threats from our New England communities.”

73,822 non-citizens with criminal history were detained by ICE in the fiscal year 2023, 4,390 of whom had charges or convictions relating to sexual assault.