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What does it cost to avoid a sexual assault prosecution?
For an illegal immigrant in Omaha, the going rate was $20,000.
It was a rate set by the government — and a rate that resulted in the release of an alleged child rapist.
In March, Diego Alcudia-Mendez, 45, turned himself in at the Douglas County Jail and admitted that he had impregnated a 14-year-old girl, according to Omaha police reports.
The girl confirmed Alcudia-Mendez's account and her pregnancy. And prosecutors said paternity tests on her child would have cinched a first-degree sexual assault conviction under a state law that makes it illegal for adults to have sex with anyone under 16.
But as he sat in jail, facing the prospect of 50 years in prison, Alcudia-Mendez figured a way out.
On April 17, he posted $10,000 — 10 percent of the $100,000 bail set at the outset of his case by Douglas County Judge Joseph Caniglia.
Still, the illegal immigrant had a problem: Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were holding him, without bail, as he awaited deportation proceedings.
So Alcudia-Mendez asked a judge to set bail in federal court.
U.S. Immigration Judge Daniel Morris of Omaha granted Alcudia-Mendez's request — setting bail at $100,000 on May 13.
Soon after, Alcudia-Mendez posted $10,000, the required 10 percent, with ICE.
Authorities haven't seen him since. He missed his deportation hearing in June and skipped two pretrial hearings in his sexual assault case — prompting Douglas County District Judge John Hartigan to issue a bench warrant for his arrest.
“He's gone,” Deputy Douglas County Attorney Stephanie Shearer said after Alcudia-Mendez's last no-show.
Authorities, meanwhile, are sorting out how he was allowed to get away.
The mix-up has officials questioning how they can shore up procedures and open up communication lines between federal and local authorities.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said ICE officials did not contact his office when Alcudia-Mendez was posting the $10,000 in the federal case — his last action before his release.
Had they been notified, prosecutors might have been able to request a bail review in Douglas County District Court. At 10 percent of $100,000, Kleine said, the amount Alcudia-Mendez had to post was “substantial.”
Even so, Kleine said, his prosecutors could have argued that, without the federal hold, Alcudia-Mendez was a substantial flight risk and, thus, needed higher bail.
Kleine said his office has contact with ICE officials in Omaha. However, he said, almost all of the calls are initiated by his office.
“There needs to be better communication between ICE and local law enforcement,” Kleine said. “Historically it seems there's a tendency that there's communication from us to them. It's rarely initiated by them to us.
“Certainly we would expect to be kept apprised of someone when we have a case pending here.”
Kleine said prosecutors “naturally assumed” that Alcudia-Mendez would be held by ICE. It didn't occur to his office that an illegal immigrant would even be eligible to have bail set by federal officials holding him in deportation proceedings, Kleine said.
Tim Counts, an ICE spokesman, said some illegal immigrants secure bail while they await deportation proceedings. Convicted felons are held without bail.
Bail for those awaiting trial on felony charges — as Alcudia-Mendez was — appears to be rare.
Because ICE agents were holding Alcudia-Mendez without bail, the 45-year-old had to request a bail redetermination hearing.
Counts said he couldn't comment specifically on Alcudia-Mendez's case. However, he said, ICE attorneys alert judges to pending criminal cases when they appear in immigration court.
“Our attorneys go and explain to the judge why we set no bond from the outset,” Counts said.
Asked specifically what ICE attorneys told Judge Morris about Alcudia-Mendez, Counts said: “We argue our points in a court of law. We don't discuss details outside the courtroom.”
As to communication lines between ICE and local law enforcement, Counts said federal authorities do contact local authorities “depending on the case, depending on the situation.”
He said no specific policy or level of criminal charges automatically prompts ICE agents to make a phone call to local authorities about a defendant's deportation status. Still, he said, they do.
Kleine acknowledged that finding Alcudia-Mendez may be a long shot. The prosecutor said his first concerns are with the victim and her family.
“I hope he gets tracked down,” Kleine said. “He is charged with a very serious crime. We obviously want him held accountable.”
Contact the writer:
444-1275, todd.cooper@owh.com
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