GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Pablo Gomez-Sarmiento, 25, a Mexican national, was sentenced to the statutory maximum of two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to illegally reentering the United States. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said, “This case underscores the critical need to secure our borders against criminal illegal aliens and to enforce our immigration laws. The defendant’s rape of the child in the underlying state case was entirely preventable. That heartbreaking case is precisely why President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Todd Blanche have directed the Department of Justice to reverse the consequences of the prior administration’s illegal immigration policies and keep criminal illegal aliens, like this defendant, out of our country.”
According to court documents, Gomez-Sarmiento was removed from the United States in January 2020. He later returned to the country unlawfully and was arrested in Alachua County, Florida, in 2024 after impregnating a child younger than 16. The defendant admitted that he saw the 15-year-old victim get off a school bus and knew she was under 18. He was convicted in 2025 and sentenced to state prison. While he was serving that sentence, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement learned that he was in the United States and initiated the federal criminal case.
MORE STORY: Cold Case Answers: Who killed Shannon Poteet, a young Native American mom, in 1986? – NewsFinale
“Criminal illegal aliens who prey on children will find no place to hide from the women and men of ICE,” said Matthew Elliston, director of the Miami Field Office of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. “This criminal alien unlawfully returned to the United States after being removed and then targeted a child for sexual exploitation. ICE will not tolerate individuals who violate our immigration laws and prey on innocent victims.”
The investigation was conducted by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations and the Gainesville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Fleming prosecuted the case.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative that brings together the agency’s resources to combat illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime.