A citizen of El Salvador, Leonel Hernandez-Zelaya, was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for illegally reentering the United States multiple times after having been previously removed. Hernandez-Zelaya, 39, had earlier pleaded guilty to illegal reentry of a previously removed alien.
Court records indicate that Hernandez-Zelaya was first deported to El Salvador in September 2007 following his arrest for entering the United States without proper authorization. He was removed again in May 2008 but subsequently returned to the country without authorization and lived unlawfully in the Western District of Virginia and other areas.
In July 2025, Hernandez-Zelaya was convicted in state court for carnal knowledge of a 14-year-old girl without force in Warren County, Virginia. The Warren County Circuit Court sentenced him to five years imprisonment with all but five months suspended and imposed three years’ probation.
At the sentencing hearing, it was revealed that Hernandez-Zelaya engaged in sexual intercourse with the minor on at least three occasions. The court noted these acts would not have occurred if he had complied with his removal order and remained outside the United States.
Robert N. Tracci, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, and Ian Kaufman, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division, announced the sentence. “This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” according to their statement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlene R. Day prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.
