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Detainee Described ICE Agent's Home In Rape Allegations, Authorities Say

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 19, 2007

Updated: 11/19/2007 04:58 pm

TAMPA - The Jamaican detainee had been in a federal facility for three months when she was put in the custody of Immigration Enforcement Agent Wilfredo Vazquez.

Vazquez' last assignment of the day was to take the woman from a processing center in Miami to Broward Transition Center in a white passenger van with markings from the Department of Homeland Security. She was being taken to the transition center in Pompano Beach to await deportation for making a false statement in the use of a passport and for falsely representing herself to be a U.S. citizen.

The 39-year-old woman was the only passenger in the van Sept. 21, according to a federal affidavit.

She later gave a sworn statement, telling investigators Vazquez removed her restraints when he put her in the back of the van behind a partition. He told her he would move her up front if she was a "good girl," the woman said.

After they left the Miami facility, Krome Service Processing Center, Vazquez pulled the van over and escorted the woman up to the front passenger seat. He then let her use his cell phone to make some personal calls, she said.

After that, Vazquez asked her to show him her underwear, she said. She refused. She said he then used a vulgar phrase, telling her he wanted to perform oral sex on her, she said. He drove her to his house in Tamarac.

The woman described the route in detail to investigators, according to the federal criminal affidavit. She gave the detectives a description of the inside and outside of his house. She said that once inside, Vazquez told her to take off her clothes, and then he left the room, returning with a condom.

She told authorities she didn't outwardly resist because she was afraid of Vazquez. He was wearing his firearm through the whole thing, she said. She told investigators he performed sex acts on her against her will. "At all times, Vazquez was wearing his uniform and kept his gun and belt attached to his waist," the complaint says.

The woman told investigators Vazquez returned her to the van, and they stopped at a gas station next to the Broward Transition Center, where he moved her from the front passenger seat to the back.

According to records, the pair left Krome at 12:30 p.m. and arrived at the Broward Transition center about 2:15 p.m., the complaint states.

Six days after the incident, Vazquez was interviewed by investigators and "vehemently" denied making any stops between Krome and Broward Transition Center, other than the gas station, He denied having sexual contact with the woman or taking her to his house.

The day Vazquez, 35, was interviewed, the affidavit states, investigators searched Vazquez' home in Tamarac and were able to confirm the description given by the woman. SunPass records also confirmed that Vazquez had left the Florida Turnpike two miles from his home at 1:24 p.m. on Sept. 21, the complaint says.

He re-entered the Florida Turnpike heading north at 1:48 p.m., the affidavit states.

Authorities say Vazquez was fired from his immigration job shortly after the allegations were lodged against him.

When he was arrested Friday, he was on temporary assignment at MacDill Air Force Base with security forces as reservist from Homestead Air Reserve Base, MacDill spokeswoman Diane Green said.

Vazquez worked for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for less than a year.

Vazquez was being held Saturday without bail at Orient Road Jail, Hillsborough County arrest records showed. He is scheduled to make his first appearance in Tampa federal court this afternoon.

He waived his right to have a preliminary hearing and a bail hearing in U.S. District Court in Tampa this afternoon. His attorney, James Rubin, told U.S. Magistrate Thomas Wilson that Vazquez prefers to have those hearings in South Florida, where his case will be prosecuted. Vazquez is expected to be transported to South Florida by the U.S. Marshals.

After this afternoon's brief hearing, Rubin told a reporter, "When it comes right down to it, anybody can make allegations. He's entitled to a presumption of innocence and we're waiting for our day in court."

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

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