Hilton Head man detained by ICE after pleading guilty in teen’s 2019 sexual assault
A Hilton Head Island man accused of sexually assaulting a teenager in 2019 pleaded guilty Wednesday after spending more than 500 days in jail.
A Beaufort County judge sentenced Teofilo Gonzalez-Fermin, 41, of Hilton Head to time served after he pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct with a minor in the third degree, a felony. Typically, a defendant sentenced to time served is free to go, having completed his time behind bars.
But on Thursday morning, Gonzalez-Fermin left the Beaufort County Detention Center with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, said Col. Quandara Grant, the jail’s director.
The agency put a hold on his arrest in 2019. ICE does so when it believes a person may be in the country illegally.
Gonzalez-Fermin was a family friend of the victim and came to her house to drop off $400 he owed her family member, according to a 2019 report in the Island Packet newspaper.
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The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette newspapers are making an effort to update stories we’ve published where criminal charges were filed. Criminal charges mean law enforcement had probable cause to arrest someone, but a court decides on a person’s guilt and conviction. If our newspaper has written about a crime where charges were brought, we want to use public records to show what happened in that case. If you think a crime story featuring you or someone you know needs updating, email Sofia Sanchez at ssanchez@islandpacket.com or newsroom@islandpacket.com.
An immigration attorney who represented Gonzalez-Fermin did not return a message Thursday.
Jeff Kidd, a spokesperson for the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, said prosecutors recommended three to five years in prison.
The judge didn’t go for that, but Gonzalez-Fermin is required to register as a sex offender, Kidd said.
