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Sergio Niz-Mendez, a 27-year-old Guatemalan man, has admitted to illegally reentering the United States and failing to register as a sex offender in Iowa. Niz-Mendez was found in O’Brien County, Iowa, after being arrested for operating while intoxicated and eluding. He had previously been removed from the United States in 2018 and had a 2016 rape of a child with force conviction in Massachusetts, requiring him to register as a sex offender.
Niz-Mendez pled guilty to the charges on March 23, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City. He faces a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release for the illegal reentry conviction, and a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and five years to life of supervised release for the failure to register conviction.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and violent crime. The Department of Homeland Security investigated the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood is prosecuting it.
Niz-Mendez remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing, which will be set after a presentence report is complete. United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will preside over the sentencing hearing.