Overview
- Ricardo Leonel Mejia pleaded guilty in Virginia Beach Circuit Court and was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years for three rapes of a child under 13 and related burglary offenses.
- Court records and a search warrant say he entered the girl's bedroom through a window on three occasions, with the parents discovering a man fleeing on Oct. 9, 2024.
- The Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office said a routine custody query identified Mejia as born outside the U.S., prompting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to lodge a detainer.
- Officials said he will serve his sentence in the Virginia Department of Corrections before a transfer to ICE custody for further proceedings, with no transfer timeline available.
- The case has become a focus in Virginia politics over local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, with candidates and officials publicly weighing in on policy direction.