Baltimore County judges often give light sentences to illegal immigrant sex offenders

TOWSON, Md. (WBFF) — A FOX45 News investigation found that Baltimore County Circuit Court judges disproportionally hand down lenient sentences in criminal child sex cases involving illegal immigrants.

Public records show that Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger’s office filed 99 child sex crime cases between January 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024.Nearly 10% of the child sex cases in Baltimore County, involving nine defendants over a 17-month period, involved illegal immigrants from Central American countries.

Customs records show that illegal immigrant defendants who were initially detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) entered the country illegally at the nation’s southern border. Nearly all were in violation of parole when they were living in Maryland.

Court records show that Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Robert Cahill sentenced three of the nine child sex crime cases involving illegal immigrants. Those cases included defendants Arles Efrain Avila, Luis Portillo-Henriquez and Jose Mejia.

Luis Portillo-Henriquez

Portillo-Henriquez's immigration records show he had several negative interactions with law enforcement agencies in Maryland over the years.

Maryland State Police arrested Portillo-Henriquez for driving under the influence in October 2009 which resulted in probation before judgment. Portillo-Henriquez was arrested again in January 2017 for driving on a suspended license. He once again received probation before judgement.

Portillo-Henriquez was then arrested in September 2021 for another DUI incident.He failed to appear for trial in Frederick until he was arrested by the Maryland Transportation Authority for driving with a suspended license.A Frederick County judge sentenced Portillo-Henriquez to one year in prison followed by two years of probation. Immigration records show his prison sentence was ultimately fully suspended.

Portillo-Henriquez was later found guilty of raping a 14-year-old juvenile that was living in his Baltimore County house. Court records show the incidents happened for months when the girl’s mother was not at home.Judge Cahill sentenced Portillo-Henriquez to 25 years in prison, but reduced the sentence to only 18 months. The illegal immigrant is currently in ICE’s custody preparing for deportation.

Arles Efrain Avila

After being repeatedly arrested by ICE and deported to Honduras over 18 years, Avila was arrested in January 2023 in Baltimore County for multiple counts of child sex crimes.

Despite Avila's repeated immigration violations, Judge Cahill accepted and imposed a five-year probation sentence for his alleged sex crimes, according to court records.

Immigration records showed Avila was deported once again by ICE to Honduras in January 2024. It is unclear if he is back in the country.

Jose Mejia

Mejia’s immigrations records say it is unclear how the illegal immigrant entered the country. His first recorded interaction with U.S. law enforcement was when he was arrested in June 2023 for multiple counts of child sex crimes in Baltimore County.

Judge Cahill sentenced Mejia to five years of supervised probation, dismissing several counts. Mejia’s immigration records show he remains in the country.

Miguel Flores-Avalos

Flores-Avalos was arrested by Baltimore County police in December 2023 for multiple counts of sex crimes, court records show. Flores-Avalos's immigration records are unclear regarding his illegal entry into the country and his nation of origin.

Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Keith Truffer sentenced Flores-Avalos to 25 years in prison, but suspended all but 18 months of his term. ICE has lodged a detainer against Florers-Avalos, who currently is in the custody of the Baltimore County Detention Center.

Baltimore County Executive JohnnyOlszewski changed his policy about cooperating with ICE detainers after reporting by FOX45 News last month about an illegal immigrant child sex offender who was released despite an active detainer request.

Silence at the courthouse

FOX45 News reached representatives Tuesday afternoon for Judge Cahill and Judge Truffer. Comment requests were not immediately returned.FOX45 News was also unable to reach several judges’ chambers Tuesday despite reaching out to a Baltimore County Circuit Court administrator who promised to provide contact information. The ability to contact Maryland judges is greatly restricted.

One unreachable justice, Judge Michael Finifter, placed all child sex crime charges against defendant Elias Ramos-Gutierrez on a stet docket, according to court records. When a case receives a stet disposition, the prosecution of the case is inactive.

Immigration records show Ramos-Gutierrez was previously deported in August 2021.

Bradley Tanner, the public information officer for Maryland courts' administrative offices, responded to FOX45 News's questions late Wednesday after this article was initially published.

"While we cannot comment on individual cases, judges base their decisions on many different factors that are often unique to each case," Tanner said. "One such factor may be the understanding that an individual who is subject to an ICE or other federal detainer will be taken into custody by ICE or another federal agency immediately upon the end of whatever state sentence is imposed."

Tanner said another factor in sentencing includes plea agreement terms, although judges ultimately can decide to accept or reject conditions at their discretion.

"I trust this information will provide some clarity on the matter to prevent misrepresentations of facts and create false assumptions," Tanner added.

Large-scale problem seeking widespread answers

When comparing the 99 child sex crime cases brought by Baltimore County during the researched 17-month period, it was found that several cases involving African American defendants resulted in harsher sentences.

In three similar cases to illegal immigrants, Black defendants received prison time of four years or more.Court records indicate that two out of 11 closed cases involving Black defendants resulted in sentences of 12 years or more in prison.

Elected officials weigh in

FOX45 News reached out to Baltimore County’s elected leadership, including the county executive, the state’s attorney, all county council members, all state delegates and all state senators for comment. Email comment requests were also sent to the offices of U.S. congressmen who represent portions of Baltimore County.

State's Attorney Shellenberger confirmed receipt of FOX45 News’s emails and stated that his office will review the investigation's findings and compare them to internal data.

Baltimore County Republican delegates Kathy Szelgia and Ryan Nawrocki responded to questions with a joint statement.

“We are appalled by the shocking data point showing that black offenders are getting stiffer penalties than others for sex crimes,” Szelgia and Nawrocki jointly said. “The soft-on-crime laws and judiciary are dangerous and must be changed.”

A legislative aide for Del. Harry Bhandari, D-Baltimore County, responded to comment requests by thanking FOX45 News for its investigation but questioning the context and intended audience for their statements. After answering the office's questions, Del. Bhandrai's aide did not provide any further comments at the time of publication.

The legislative aid for Sen. Charles Sydnor, D-Baltimore County, acknowledged the receipt of FOX45 News’s comment requests.

“The senator is not available to respond to your email at this time,” Sen. Sydnor’s office said.

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County Executive Johnny Olszewski’s office did not immediately respond on Tuesday to FOX45 News’s comment requests. Republican Kim Klacik, who is challenging Olszewski for Maryland’s third district congressional seat, said that the way law enforcement handles illegal immigrants who commit crimes should be further reviewed.

“My initial reaction is I am not shocked but disappointed,” Klacik said. “Having multiple interactions with law enforcement is troubling for many reasons.”

“I believe both elected officials and judges should be held accountable for these heinous crimes,” Klacik added.

Del. Nino Mangione said that immigration records compared to child sex crime court records confirm a fear he has had since taking office.

“Once again, the county seems focused on the rights of illegals rather than enforcing the law or protecting our citizens,” Mangione said. “There needs to be transparency for these light sentences and accountability for the judges who fail to do their jobs.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 95% of Baltimore County’s residents in 2022 were documented citizens. In the same census report, 6.08% of Baltimore County residents were identified as Hispanic.

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