Guilty Plea in Iowa: Sergio Niz-Mendez, a 27-year-old man from Guatemala, has pleaded guilty to two federal charges in the Northern District of Iowa. According to court documents, Sergio Niz-Mendez was found guilty of illegal reentry and failure to register as a sex offender on March 23, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City, Iowa.
Niz-Mendez admitted to being a citizen of Guatemala, having been previously removed from the United States in 2018, and not seeking permission to legally be in the country. He also acknowledged that he had failed to register as a sex offender due to a 2016 conviction in Massachusetts for the rape of a child with force.
The arrest of Sergio Niz-Mendez was a result of a traffic stop in O’Brien County, Iowa. He was taken into custody for operating while intoxicated and eluding law enforcement.
Under federal law, Sergio Niz-Mendez faces a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release for the illegal reentry conviction. For the failure to register conviction, he faces a maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and five years to life of supervised release.
Niz-Mendez is currently in the custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. The court will set a sentencing date after a presentence report is complete.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative by the government to combat illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.
A court file with more information can be found at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl with the case file number 25-CR-4065. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa on X @USAO_NDIA for updates on this case and others like it.
Related Federal Cases
- Gabriel Krusen, Illegal Gun Possession, Iowa 2024 · Illinois
- Ferrer-Hernandez, Fake ID Employment Scam, Iowa 2024 · Washington
- Sergio Niz-Mendez, Sex Offender Reentry, Iowa 2026 · Maine
- Marlene Barkheimer, FDIC Advisory Committee Appointment, Washington… · Washington
- Letitia James Defends Humanitarian Parole Program, New York NY, 2024 · Pennsylvania
Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Immigration
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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