San Diego authorities arrested Ezequiel Cruz-Rodriguez, a thrice-deported illegal immigrant and convicted pedophile, who had been living in a licensed daycare run by his wife, Dulce Villagomez.
Villagomez, an SEIU activist, has been photographed with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), raising questions about how the state’s sanctuary policies may have allowed a dangerous criminal to remain undetected.
Cruz-Rodriguez, 47, has an extensive criminal history, including sexual assault of a child under 14, sexual battery, assault, robbery, domestic violence and illegal reentry.
He had been deported from the United States three times—1996, 2003 and 2012—and is affiliated with the notorious Logan Heights gang.
Patrick Divver, ICE San Diego Field Director, described him as “an unregistered convicted child sex offender with prior convictions of possession of a firearm, DUI, domestic violence, battery, assault, brandishing a firearm, illegal reentry, robbery and illegal reentry after removal.”
Authorities said the arrest was the result of meticulous law enforcement work to remove a high-risk individual from a vulnerable setting.
A senior Department of Homeland Security official condemned the situation, stating, “It is SICKENING to think this pedophile criminal illegal alien was residing inside the home where a daycare operates and hiding out in a sanctuary city.