Mexican national and convicted child molester sentenced for immigration fraud

RALEIGH, N.C. — On May 6, Marcelo Soto-Luna, a Mexican citizen and convicted child molester, was sentenced to seven months in prison for immigration fraud. He pleaded guilty to the charge Jan. 14. Upon completion of his state and federal sentences, Soto will be transferred to ICE custody for removal from the United States.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, on Aug. 29, 2020, Soto knowingly made a false statement under penalty of perjury on an application for immigration benefit as a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. In response to the question “Have you EVER engaged in, ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in any of the following: [any kind of sexual contact or relations with any person who was being forced or threatened?” he answered “No.”

On Oct. 25, 2023, in the Superior Court of North Carolina in Wake County, Soto was convicted of three counts of indecent liberties with a child. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of between 45 and 81 months and ordered to register as a sex offender. Soto confessed to having committed the crimes on Jan. 1, 2019. The victim was a 7-year-old girl.

"This conviction underscores ICE’s unwavering commitment to upholding the integrity of our nation’s immigration system," said LaDeon Francis, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Atlanta Field Office. "Those who attempt to manipulate or defraud the immigration process will be held accountable. Our officers work diligently to investigate and bring to justice individuals who seek to undermine lawful immigration procedures."

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina prosecuted the case. It was investigated by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division in Raleigh as part of Operation False Haven, an ongoing national initiative designed to identify and prosecute child molesters and other egregious felons who fraudulently obtained immigration benefits. The operation has successfully produced criminal and civil cases against defendants convicted of murder, serial rape, child molestation, incest, sodomy, child pornography, kidnapping, sex trafficking, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, tax fraud, pill mill prescription fraud, embezzlement, aggravated identity theft, and elder abuse.

Learn more at ICE's Immigration Fraud Prosecutions web page.

For more news and information on how ERO Atlanta carries out its immigration enforcement mission in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROAtlanta.

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.gov)