Sex offender sent to prison for immigration and SORNA violations

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 57-year-old convicted felon and Guatemalan national has been sentenced to federal prison for violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) and unlawfully returning to the United States after removal proceedings, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. 

Today, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ordered Jose Paxtor-Chiroy to serve 30 months each for the SORNA and immigration convictions, respectively. The sentences will be served concurrently. At the hearing, the court heard evidence regarding Paxtor-Chiroy’s previous convictions for aggravated sexual assault of a 5-year-old victim and molesting another child victim. After serving those sentences, he was ordered to register as a sex offender for life and ordered removed from the county. The court also noted he had been previously removed in 1992. Not a U.S. citizen, he will again be expected to face removal proceedings.

Law enforcement discovered Paxtor-Chiroy Feb. 27, 2018, walking through a ranch near Sarita attempting to avoid detection. He admitted he had traveled across the Rio Grande River near Hidalgo before being discovered.

Under SORNA, convicted sex offenders must provide registration updates annually or quarterly, depending on the reportable conviction. 

He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Manning is prosecuting the case.