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WHITE PINE, Tenn. (WJHL) — A man wanted out of Florida for alleged sexual battery of a child was arrested in White Pine Thursday morning.
According to the United States Marshals Service (USMS), Eleazar Briones-Vega was wanted out of Sarasota County, Florida, for capital sexual battery of a minor.
The USMS office in Greeneville was informed on Thursday morning that Briones-Vega could be in “upper East Tennessee,” a news release from the agency states.
Members of the Eastern Tennessee USMS Smoky Mountains Task Force found and arrested Briones-Vega in White Pine without incident.
According to the Marshals Service, investigators learned Briones-Vega, who is not a legal resident of the U.S., had allegedly committed sexual acts on a minor victim for three years until it was reported. The victim was under 10 years old at the time the acts began, the USMS reports.
After the alleged sexual battery was reported, Briones-Vega fled Florida.
Briones-Vega was booked into the Jefferson County Detention Center. The USMS reports he is awaiting extradition to Florida.
“I appreciate the quick work of our Smoky Mountains Fugitive Task Force to locate and apprehend this child predator,” David Jolley, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Tennessee, said in a statement. “Such individuals are not welcome in our state nor our country.”