ILLEGAL MEXICAN ALIEN CHILD MOLESTER CHARGED WITH PERJURY AND IMMIGRATION FRAUD

GREENVILLE, N.C. - A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Roberto Almeida-Santos, 56, an illegal alien born in Mexico, with perjury and immigration fraud. The indictment alleges that Sanchez lied about his criminal history on his application to obtain a non-immigrant visa.

According to the indictment and previously issued court documents, Sanchez is alleged to have knowingly made materially false statements under penalty of perjury on his application to obtain a non-immigrant visa when he submitted it to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) in 2021. He allegedly answered "No" in response to the questions "Have you EVER committed a crime or offense for which you have not been arrested?" and "Have you EVER ordered, incited, called for, committed, assisted, helped with, or otherwise participated in any of the following:…[e]ngaging in any kind of sexual conduct or relations with any person who was being forced or threatened?"

On August 7, 2023, in Randolph County Superior Court of North Carolina, a grand jury returned an indictment which charged him with having committed two counts of statutory sex offense with child under 15, and two counts of indecent liberties with a child, from January 1, 2018, through January 1, 2020. On August 7, 2023, in Guilford County Superior Court of North Carolina, a separate grand jury returned two indictments against Almeida. The first indictment charged him with having committed statutory sex offense with a child from January 24, 2016, through January 23, 2017. The second indictment charged him with having committed the same offense from January 24, 2018, through January 23, 2019.

On August 14, 2024, in Guilford County Superior Court of North Carolina, Almeida was convicted of two counts of sex offense with a child by an adult. The child victim was 8 years old. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of between 18 and 26 years and ordered to register as a sex offender. Almeida confessed to having committed the offenses from January 24, 2016, through January 23, 2017, and January 24, 2018, through January 23, 2019.

On December 17, 2024, in the Randolph County Superior Court of North Carolina, Almeida was convicted of two counts of statutory sex offense with child under 15. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of between 16 and 25 years and ordered to register as a sex offender. He confessed to having committed the offenses from January 1, 2018, through January 1, 2020. The victim was 14 years old.

The grand jury charged Almeida in a two-count indictment. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. ICE ERO officers are investigating the case as part of Operation False Haven, an ongoing initiative designed to aggressively target child molesters and other egregious felons who fraudulently obtain immigration benefits. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Warlick is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North CarolinaLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. or on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. [insert].

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.