A man who was previously convicted in a high-profile sexual assault case in Oregon is once again in custody following a recent federal arrest in Salem.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Cristobal Felipe-Sarmiento was taken into custody on April 9, 2026, by Homeland Security Investigations in the Portland area. Authorities confirmed he is being held pending removal proceedings.
ICE special agents and officers from our Portland offices arrested CONVICTED RAPIST Cristobal Felipe-Sarmiento, of Mexico, during a targeted operation in Salem, Oregon, April 9.
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) April 10, 2026
A Marion County jury convicted him of first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy in Salem Dec. 19,… pic.twitter.com/6YyBqb5x66
Felipe-Sarmiento’s criminal history in Oregon dates back nearly a decade. In December 2016, he was convicted in Marion County of rape and sodomy following a jury trial. The case stemmed from an incident at a house party in June 2015, where prosecutors said the victim was heavily intoxicated and unable to give consent.
Court documents said Felipe-Sarmiento told investigators that sexual activity took place and, through a Spanish translator, acknowledged that he knew the woman had been drinking. He denied that the encounter was non-consensual. During the trial process, his defense team challenged the accuracy of those translated statements, arguing they contained errors and should not be used in court. A judge rejected that request, allowing the statements to remain part of the case.
Following his conviction, Felipe-Sarmiento was sentenced in December 2016 to more than eight years in prison.
Records also show he had an earlier Marion County conviction for driving under the influence in 2014.
Federal officials say Felipe-Sarmiento entered the United States at an unknown time and place. ICE has said he had previously been released from custody before this latest arrest. He remains in federal custody as immigration proceedings move forward.
Why Oregon Could Not Simply Hold Him for ICE
Oregon is officially designated as a sanctuary state. Under Oregon Revised Statute 181A.820, first enacted in 1987, state and local law enforcement agencies are generally barred from using public resources to enforce federal immigration law unless there is a judicial warrant or other specific legal authority.
In practice, that means local jails usually release individuals once their state custody obligations have been satisfied, unless there is a separate court order requiring continued detention.
That distinction matters because ICE detainers are typically treated as requests, not judge-signed warrants. Federal courts in the Ninth Circuit, which includes Oregon, have ruled that keeping someone locked up solely on the basis of an ICE detainer without a judicial warrant can expose local governments to constitutional liability for unlawful detention.
That legal framework helps explain how cases like this move from local criminal custody back into the federal immigration system.
The latest arrest has renewed attention to Felipe-Sarmiento’s earlier conviction, which centered on the assault of a woman investigators said was too intoxicated to consent, along with the legal battle over statements later used against him in court.
