Any time a convicted felon commits another crime, people are outraged. When the crime is a violent crime or a sex crime, the outrage is amplified.
"Why wasn't he still in jail?"
"How could this happen?"
"He should be locked up for life!"
In fact, cases of repeat offenders were the impetus for three-strikes legislation and sex offender registration laws like Megan's Law.
Even with these laws, however, career criminals are almost destined to repeat their crimes, and a small percentage of sex offenders are truly predatory. Even with the best intentions and the best safeguards, some criminals will repeat their crimes.
For parents, it is frustrating and frightening, and one Texas town is reeling from the discovery that a man who allegedly broke into a home and sexually assaulted a child should not have even been in the country at all.
In Springtown, Texas, about 70 miles from the Oklahoma border, parents were awakened by their 9-year-old daughter, who ran screaming into their bedroom to tell them that a man had come into their house, fondled her, and tried to get her to follow him to a bedroom. The parents discovered that their home had been burglarized, their cell phones and computer missing.
When police arrived at the scene, they discovered footprints which led to a nearby home that had also been burglarized. From there, they tracked down 35-year-old Israel Andrade sleeping on the couch at a relative's home only a mile from the crime scene. Police allegedly discovered two pairs of the girl's panties with Andrade.
Andrade is an illegal immigrant who relatives say came to the United States about a month ago. Even more shocking is the discovery that his return came after not one, but four deportations. The man had been kicked out of the United States and sent back to Mexico in July 2003, February 2004, September 2009, and December 2010.
Reports do not indicate the reasons for Andrade's deportations, other than his illegal immigrant status, but he has served federal prison terms three times for unlawful re-entry into the United States. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) indicates he served 45 days the first time, 6 months the second time, and 2 years the third time. The agency stated that his criminal case in Texas takes precedence over his latest re-entry and deportation case, and they will investigate subsequent to any conviction and sentence for his burglary and child molestation charges.
Andrade is charged with two felonies: burglary of a habitation with intent to commit a felony and indecency with a child by sexual contact. If convicted, he faces 5 to 99 years in prison before facing federal immigration charges.
