A 40-year-old man was arrested in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on allegations that he trafficked children, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
Rigoberto Chavez-Regaldo was taken into custody early Thursday, Oct. 8, during a multi-agency operation focused on the alleged trafficking of minors, according to a federal agency news release.
Chavez-Regaldo faces charges including sexual conduct for a fee, aggravated rape resulting in serious bodily injury, aggravated statutory rape of a child, rape of a child by force, trafficking a person for sexual servitude, indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, enticing a child under 16 and selling or delivering liquor to a person under 21.
Nantucket is an island in Massachusetts located about 30 miles south of Cape Cod by ferry. (iStock)
Chavez-Regaldo was arraigned Thursday and ordered held without bail. His detention will be reviewed during a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
Dennis Matulewicz, who leads the U.S. Marshals Service in the District of Massachusetts, described the allegations as among the agency’s “most disturbing.”
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Evening light falls on boats as they bob in the harbor of Nantucket, Massachusetts, on Aug. 13, 2020. (Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
He added that the arrest demonstrated the effectiveness of the agency’s Fugitive Task Force and its law enforcement partnerships. Matulewicz said authorities’ thoughts and prayers were with the children affected by the alleged crimes as they recover and move forward.
Officials said they would withhold additional information to protect the identities of the minor victims.
A view of a marina on Nantucket. (iStock)
The U.S. Marshals Service conducted the arrest with assistance from Brockton Police, the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing and Nantucket Police.