Citizen of Ecuador Charged with Illegally Reentering U.S., Failing to Register as Sex Offender

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that on February 1, 2018, a federal grand jury in Hartford returned an indictment charging ENRIQUE FAJARDO MARIN, 39, a citizen of Ecuador recently residing in Danbury, with one count of illegally reentering the U.S., and one count of violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

FAJARDO appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport and entered a plea of not guilty to the charge.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in December 2011, FAJARDO was convicted in Danbury Superior Court of illegal sexual contact with a minor and risk of injury.  He was sentenced to 18 years of incarceration, execution suspended after 10 years, with 20 years of probation.  FAJARDO also was required to register as a sex offender for a period of 10 years.

On February 6, 2016, FAJARDO was deported from the U.S. to Ecuador.

On June 28, 2017, FAJARDO was arrested in Worcester, Massachusetts.  It is alleged that he had illegally reentered the U.S. and had been residing in the Danbury area as early as May 1, 2017.  It is further alleged that FAJARDO had failed to register as a sex offender in Connecticut.

FAJARDO has been detained since his arrest.

If convicted, FAJARDO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years for illegally reentering the U.S., and a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years for failing to register as a sex offender.

U.S. Attorney Durham stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial at which it is the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Marshals Service, with the assistance of Connecticut State Parole.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Slater.