Honduran Man Released on a Judge's Order Charged with Raping a Woman in Her Minnesota Home, ICE Says
Federal immigration authorities say a Honduran national who was released from immigration custody on a federal judge's order has been charged, two months later, with raping a woman inside her own home in Minnesota. The accused is Marcotulio Melendez Diaz, 42.
According to federal officials, Melendez Diaz was working as a handyman on October 11 when he allegedly overpowered and repeatedly raped the resident against her will. Officials said the assault inside the Mounds View home was captured on her indoor surveillance video.
Melendez Diaz has been charged with felony first-degree criminal sexual penetration involving coercion. He remains in custody and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has criticised US District Judge Orlando L. Garcia for ordering his release in August, arguing that the incident could have been prevented if Melendez Diaz had remained in custody.
'ICE arrested him, and an immigration judge ordered his deportation. But a Clinton-appointed federal judge ordered him RELEASED,' the agency said in a statement. 'And now an American woman has suffered a horrific crime that could have been PREVENTED.'
ICE sources said Melendez Diaz was initially apprehended and released at the southern border by the Biden administration in April 2024. He was arrested again in Minnesota in January 2026, during Operation Metro Surge, and transferred to ICE detention in Texas, according to the officials.
The authorities said an immigration judge issued a deportation order against him on March 30, which Melendez Diaz appealed. While the order was under review, Garcia, a federal judge in the Western District of Texas, granted his habeas petition and ordered his release, finding that his detention had been unlawful or unreasonably prolonged. The ruling allowed him to return to Minnesota.
On October 9, his appeal was rejected and the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a deportation order against him. According to officials, he was charged with rape just two days after that deportation order became final.
