U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued a detainer for a man who is currently in custody in Montana, urging authorities not to release him. The individual, an undocumented immigrant, is accused of committing a heinous crime involving his deceased girlfriend’s daughter.
The man in question, Wualter Jesus Travieso Soto, aged 29, illegally entered the United States in 2023. Despite his illegal status, he was subsequently released. Soto now faces serious felony charges in Flathead County, accused of engaging in non-consensual sexual intercourse with a minor under 16 years old, as reported by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Authorities began investigating Soto in May 2025 following a report from his former girlfriend’s sister. She informed officials that Soto had taken charge of her late sister’s children after her tragic death in a car accident in 2024.
Soto, a Venezuelan national, is being held in the Flathead County jail with a bail set at $200,000. He faces grave charges concerning the alleged sexual assault of a minor, further complicating his illegal residency status in the United States.
The Daily Inter Lake reported that the children’s aunt raised concerns regarding Soto’s behavior after discovering disturbing photos and videos. These images allegedly depicted Soto inappropriately “kissing and holding” her eldest niece, prompting her to seek guardianship of the children.
Once the aunt was granted custody, the young girl came forward to investigators, revealing that Soto had sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. She also recounted an incident where he allegedly choked her, adding to the severity of the charges he faces, according to DHS.
Soto was arrested Feb. 1 and remains jailed on $200,000 bail, authorities said.
ICE lodged a detainer for the Montana suspect. (Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“This monster repeatedly raped the child of his dead girlfriend,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement Thursday.
“He would not be in this country in the first place if it weren’t for the Biden Administration’s disastrous catch and release policies that allowed him into our country. ICE is asking officials in Montana to turn this perverted criminal over to ICE custody so that we can get him off our streets and out of our country. With cooperation from our local partners, we will ensure this predator NEVER harms another innocent child.”
ICE agents and other federal law enforcement officials attend a pre-enforcement meeting in Chicago, Illinois, on Jan. 26, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg)
DHS said in a post on X that ICE, with cooperation from Montana authorities, “will ensure this predator NEVER harms another innocent child.”
Records reviewed by Fox News Digital also showed he sought legal guardianship of at least one of the children in court following his girlfriend’s death in the car accident in 2024.
He pleaded not guilty before Judge Danni Coffman at his April 9 arraignment. Soto remains in the county jail, held on an immigration detainer and $200,000 bail. His next court date is Aug. 3.
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