A Salvadoran illegal immigrant wanted for allegedly sexually abusing a preteen family member, along with being ordered removed 20 years ago, was captured at a Washington, D.C., airport as he attempted to leave the country.
Authorities arrested Nelvis Gonzalez Purdencio, 43, of Germantown, Maryland, at Washington Dulles International Airport last week before he could board an El Salvador-bound flight.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers believe he was trying to flee Maryland to avoid the felony child sex abuse charges and immigration offenses. Gonzalez Purdencio had been on the run after allegedly sexually abusing a family member in Montgomery County, Maryland, sometime between 2020 and 2021.
Nelvis Gonzalez Prudencio is accused of sexually abusing a family member who was younger than 12 years old at the time. https://t.co/KQqCrSYK6A
— WUSA9 (@wusa9) February 7, 2026
“This arrest illustrates how Customs and Border Protection officers help victims, including our most vulnerable victims of sexual assault, to have a voice by working with our law enforcement partners to capture and return wanted fugitives to justice,” said Christine Waugh, Customs and Border Protection’s area port director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C.
Gonzalez Purdencio failed to turn himself in three years ago after being charged with sexually assaulting a child under 12 years of age in Montgomery County, Maryland — a sanctuary jurisdiction.
Gonzalez Purdencio also had a removal order for unlawfully entering the United States issued in September 2005. Maryland authorities also ignored the removal order despite issuing a warrant for his arrest for felony child sex abuse of a minor.
According to a CBP news release, officers at Dulles confirmed the active Montgomery County arrest warrant and took him into custody on Feb. 1 at the airport. He was then turned over to officers with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Gonzalez Purdencio also had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear for removal.
“CBP will always do the right thing, and leverage all its resources and capabilities to identify and apprehend criminals while executing our border security mission,” Waugh said in a statement.
The Montgomery County Police Department charged Gonzalez Purdencio with sexual abuse of a minor, a third-degree felony, but never pursued picking him up.
MCPD also issued a news release following his arrest at the airport, detailing the allegations that led to the arrest warrant being issued on Nov. 22, 2022.
Gonzalez Purdencio agreed to turn himself in to police custody on Nov. 28, 2022, but failed to do so. That led to his arrest warrant being entered into the National Crime Information Center database in 2022 and it remained active, WJLA 7News reported.
The charges stem from an investigation conducted by detectives with MCPD’s Special Victims Investigations Division. According to MCPD, the investigation began in October 2021 after a child under the age of 12 reported sexual abuse by a family member, 7News reported.
Investigators believe the last incident of abuse occurred about a year before it was reported in 2021.
Meanwhile, in May 2025, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich issued a statement regarding the sanctuary designation by the Trump administration, noting, “Our responsibility is to protect public safety for everyone who lives in Montgomery County, regardless of immigration status.”
Elrich said Montgomery County has always cooperated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in cases involving violent crimes, serious felonies, and threats to public safety.
CBP officials said Gonzalez Prudencio had prior removal order dating back to 2005 for unlawfully entering the U.S. He had a separate warrant issued in February 2025 for failing to appear for immigration removal proceedings.
As part of its border security mission, CBP officers compare international passenger and cargo logs to numerous law enforcement databases, including the National Crime Information Center database.
Those cross-checks identify passengers and cargo that may require additional inspections, such as those with outstanding arrest warrants.
CBP screens international travelers and cargo and searches for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, invasive weeds and pests, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public and the nation’s health and safety.
CBP officers arrested another fugitive wanted for sex-related offenses involving a child at the Port of Entry in Brownsville, Texas. Pedestrian Luis Alberto Zarate Pegueros, a 41-year-old male Mexican citizen, was referred for secondary inspection after trying to cross the Gateway Bridge.
According to CBP, they confirmed through law enforcement databases that Pegueros had an outstanding felony warrant for indecency with a child by contact issued by the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office.
Zarate Pegueros was turned over to U.S. Marshals and Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies for adjudication of the warrant.
“Our frontline CBP officers remain ever vigilant and apprehended a man wanted on an outstanding warrant for an alleged sex-related offense involving a child,” said Port Director Tater Ortiz, Brownsville Port of Entry. “These kinds of apprehensions perfectly exemplify our border security mission and our efforts to help keep our communities safe.”
Elsewhere, CBP officers at Laredo, Eagle Pass and Hidalgo ports of entry apprehended three fugitives wanted on felony warrants for sex-related offenses. Although U.S. citizens, the men were wanted for 1st degree child sexual assault, indecency with a child by exposure and indecency with a child by sexual contact, and sexual assault, according to a CBP news release.
