POLK COUNTY, Fla. — An undocumented immigrant was arrested in Polk County on charges of sexual battery and child abuse. The suspect will be among the first undocumented immigrants in the state to face enhanced charges due to their immigration status.
Alvaro Alfaro Jimenez, 32, of Guatemala was arrested after a victim contacted the Polk County Sheriff's Office for help. The victim reported she was brought illegally to the U.S. by the suspect in 2019.
Jimenez allegedly took the victim to Michigan and South Carolina before ending up in Mulberry.
According to the PCSO, the suspect didn't enroll the victim in school and kept them enslaved inside the Mulberry home. The victim told detectives Jimenez repeatedly sexually abused them for three years since the victim was 12 years old.
The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment and is now in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
After the arrest, Jimenez's charges were upgraded one degree due to a new Florida law. That law states that an undocumented immigrant who commits a crime will have the charges upgraded due to being in the United States illegally.
Jimenez faces four felonies including child sex abuse causing great harm, negligent child abuse and others. He is being held on no bond in the Polk County Jail.
Over the last two months, the ABC Action News I-Team has sent the names and information of nearly 300 people who were stuck in an "adjudication hold" to the Florida Department of Commerce. But now, some people have followed up to let the I-Team know after sharing their stories, they are finally getting the relief they desperately need.
