Ruben Rosas-Avalos, 25, a Lee County resident and native of Mexico, was sentenced to six months in federal prison on November 17, 2021, for defrauding the U.S. naturalization process—lying about his history of sexually abusing children. The sentence came with a hammer blow: judicial denaturalization, stripping him of the U.S. citizenship he obtained through deception.
Rosas-Avalos pleaded guilty on July 20, 2021, to making materially false statements under oath during his 2016 citizenship application. When asked if he had ever committed or attempted a crime for which he wasn’t arrested, he answered “No.” That lie concealed a monstrous truth: on July 27, 2015, he committed indecent liberties with a child—one of two separate offenses buried in his past.
The truth exploded into the open on March 28, 2019, when the Superior Court of North Carolina in Lee County convicted Rosas-Avalos of statutory rape of a child and indecent liberties with a child. The victims were two different minors. He was sentenced to more than 26 years in state prison and mandated to register as a sex offender. Crucially, he was not arrested until after he had already been naturalized, allowing his crimes to remain hidden from immigration authorities.
His fraudulent citizenship was obtained on February 23, 2016, when he took the Oath of Allegiance—despite already having preyed on a child nearly a year prior. That act of deception triggered the federal prosecution, not for the abuse itself—which was already punished at the state level—but for the betrayal of trust inherent in lying to become an American citizen.
The case was investigated by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations as part of Operation False Haven, a targeted federal initiative to root out violent predators and sex offenders who exploit the immigration system. Agents on the Document Benefit Fraud Task Force dismantled Rosas-Avalos’s false identity with cold precision, ensuring he would lose the status he so recklessly claimed.
Sandra J. Hairston, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, announced the outcome. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank J. Chut handled prosecution. U.S. District Judge Loretta C. Biggs imposed the sentence, underscoring that citizenship is not a reward for deception—but a privilege earned through honesty, especially when a predator seeks to hide behind the flag.
Related Federal Cases
- Michigan Orthodontist Gets 60 Years for Child Sex Crimes · North Carolina
- Middletown Man Snared in Child Porn Sting, Gets 18 Months · North Carolina
- Dean Paul Stitz Sentenced in Child Porn Case · North Carolina
- Ex-Navy Recruiter Johnson Gets 17 Years for Child Exploitation · North Carolina
- James Matthew Shelton Gets 262 Months for Child Sex Exploitation · North Carolina
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Sex CrimesSex CrimesSex CrimesSex Crimes