Female Sex Offender Caught Along Texas Border, Arrested with Multiple Warrants

A young woman with multiple warrants for her arrest was caught trying to cross the border into Texas. Her list of charges include indecency with a child by exposure.

A Fugitive Apprehension Along the Texas Border

On December 17, border officers at the Gateway to the Americas Bridge in Laredo, TX, referred a pedestrian, 23-year-old U.S. citizen Melanie Sustaita Rivera, to secondary inspection.

Biometric verification through the use of fingerprints and facial ID was conducted, leading officers to make the shocking discovery. Rivera had multiple outstanding warrants for her arrest out of two separate Texas counties.

Rivera violated her probation stemming from an original charge out of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office for indecency with a child by exposure.

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The other warrant for Rivera's arrest was out of San Antonio. This was for her failure to meet sex offender requirements. She was then arrested and sent to the Webb County Jail to await adjudication.

Laredo Port Director Alberto Flores emphasized that arrests like these highlight the importance of border security keeping our communities safe:

Our frontline CBP officers continue to maintain strict vigilance amid rising holiday traffic and that attention to detail yielded the apprehension of a woman wanted on outstanding warrants stemming from original alleged sex-related offenses involving a child.

How did Biometric Verification Help Identify Rivera?

When officers across the country access the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), they are able to see the full criminal records of wanted persons.

In this case, border officers could see the warrants for Rivera's arrest after feeding her biometrics (fingerprints, facial ID, etc.) into the online national database.