Celso Rivas-Gonzalez, Child Predator Re-Entry, Texas 2025

A Salvadoran national, Celso Rivas-Gonzalez, has been sentenced to the statutory maximum 20 years in prison for illegal re-entry.

The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Ernest Gonzalez in a federal court in Del Rio, Texas, on February 19, 2026.

Rivas-Gonzalez, 35, was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents on July 26, 2025. In 2024, he was convicted of both illegal re-entry and indecency with a child. Prior to that, in 2021, he was convicted of a harassment felony that had been reduced from one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Rivas-Gonzalez has been deported from the U.S. twice, the last time being on February 19, 2025. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons, said the 20-year max imprisonment imposed demonstrates that the U.S. will not let convicted sexual predators come into this country illegally and jeopardize the safety of Americans.

U.S. Attorney Simmons said, 'I hope the message is now clear, but if not, I’ll say it plainly. If you’re an illegal alien that has committed the types of heinous offenses that were committed by the defendant in this case, we will hold you to account.'

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the U.S. government to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carli Tuttle and Daisy Gonzalez prosecuted the case. The U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case.

Rivas-Gonzalez's sentence reflects the hard work of the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol to keep our communities free of sex offenders and other criminals, said Chief Patrol Agent Anthony S. Good, Del Rio Border Patrol Sector.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtx/pr/salvadoran-child-predator-gets-20-years-federal-prison-illegal-re-entry