A former college athlete fought off a Salvadoran migrant who allegedly tried to assault and abduct her on a busy walking trail in Loudoun County, Virginia, police said.
The suspect, Rolando Sanchez Velasquez, 34, is in the country illegally and federal authorities also lodged an immigration detainer against him. He now faces charges of abduction and assault and battery, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has criticized Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger for harboring criminal illegals and allowing them to prey on innocent Americans.
A Loudoun County woman survived because she fought back.
Authorities say Rolando Velasquez, an illegal alien, grabbed a woman by the neck and her ponytail during an attempted abduction before she escaped and called 911. He is now in local custody on abduction, assault, and… pic.twitter.com/nGPEgfFjFm
— The American Border Story Action (@TABSAction) July 29, 2026
In a news release highlighting the case, DHS recapped nearly 20 serious alleged crimes or convictions involving illegal immigrants in Virginia, including murder, rape and sex crimes against children, since January.
“In Sanctuary Spanberger’s Virginia, criminal illegal aliens have been welcomed with open arms — and the consequences are devastating,” DHS shared on social media. “This illegal alien ATTACKED and tried to KIDNAP a woman while she was simply enjoying a day walking on a trail.”
In Sanctuary Spanberger’s Virginia, criminal illegal aliens have been welcomed with open arms — and the consequences are devastating.
This illegal alien ATTACKED and tried to KIDNAP a woman while she was simply enjoying a day walking on a trail. @GovernorVA’s sanctuary… https://t.co/zQdwRKxhZL pic.twitter.com/fzlMSidST3
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) July 28, 2026
The attempted abduction linked to Velasquez occurred around 8:30 p.m. July 15 on a popular walking trail in Sterling, Virginia, KRCR 7News reported.
Deputies responded to a report from a woman who was approached and grabbed on a walking trail by the suspect, the sheriff’s office said, adding the victim “courageously fought off her attacker.”
The victim told deputies the suspect came up behind her and grabbed her around the neck, even pulling her hair. After a brief struggle, she managed to escape and ran across the street to a shopping center, where she called 911.
The victim’s husband spoke to 7News and said she noticed a man near a wooded area shortly before he tried to assault her.
The assailant was on the loose for more than a week. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office later identified him as Velazquez, from El Salvador, and arrested him on July 22.
In addition, authorities said he was served with outstanding warrants for child neglect and was being held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer for Velazquez with Loudoun County the same day he was arrested.
Velazquez illegally entered the United States at an unknown date and location, DHS said.
However, due to Virginia’s sanctuary policies, many criminal suspects are released while awaiting trial or have their charges dropped and are allowed back into the community.
During her first days in office, Spanberger signed executive orders banning state cooperation with ICE as well as terminating 287(g) state and local agreements.
“ICE is requesting that Governor Abigail Spanberger and her fellow sanctuary politicians commit to not releasing this criminal from jail and turn him over to ICE so we can remove him from our country,” Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said. “Governor Spanberger must STOP RELEASING criminal illegal aliens into Virginia communities to perpetrate more crimes and create more victims.”
A similar incident was reported in June in Fairfax County, Virginia, after an illegal immigrant reportedly exposed himself to a woman while she was walking on a trail. The man then tried to assault and abduct another woman on a bicycle in the same park in Annandale, Virginia.
ICE lodged a detainer for Moises Domingo Rico Rosales, from Nicaragua, after he was arrested on June 23 and charged with abduction of person with intent to defile and indecent exposure related to the alleged assaults.
Earlier this month, ICE arrested Raul Genesis Ortiz Moran, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, after he was charged with second-degree murder and aggravated sexual battery in the death of a 2-year-old girl in Louisa County, Virginia.
