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Guatemalan National Faces 30 Years in Prison After Illegal Reentry and Sex Offender Registration Failure

Guatemalan man indicted in Florida for illegal reentry after deportation and failing to register as a sex offender.

September 12, 2025, 6:27 PM

Two police officers in tactical gear arrest a person on a dark night

Two police officers in tactical gear apprehend a suspect in the dark, highlighting a high-stakes law enforcement action. By Eduard Goricev / Shutterstock.com.

Executive Summary

Guatemalan national Jairon Micael Juarez-Gomez has been indicted in Ocala, Florida, on charges of illegal reentry into the U.S. after deportation and failure to register as a sex offender.

Juarez-Gomez was previously convicted of felony sexual battery with a child, deported in 2020, and allegedly returned to the U.S. without authorization and failed to register as mandated by SORNA.

He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison if convicted, with the case being part of the nationwide Department of Justice initiative “Operation Take Back America.”

Laws and Precedent

Jairon Micael Juarez-Gomez faces federal charges based on the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), which mandates individuals convicted of certain sex offenses to register as sex offenders, and federal immigration laws that prohibit reentry into the United States after deportation without proper authorization from the Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security.

A Guatemalan national, Jairon Micael Juarez-Gomez, 36, has been indicted in Ocala, Florida, on charges of illegal reentry into the United States after deportation and failure to register as a sex offender. Juarez-Gomez faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison if convicted.

Indictment Details

The indictment alleges that Juarez-Gomez was convicted of felony sexual battery with a child aged 12-18 years on November 30, 2020. Following this conviction, he was required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

He was deported from the United States to Guatemala on December 29, 2020. However, Juarez-Gomez was found to have voluntarily returned to the U.S. by August 8, 2025, without obtaining consent from the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission. He also allegedly failed to register as a sex offender upon his return, as mandated by SORNA.

Law Enforcement Investigation

The case is being investigated by a multi-agency team, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), the United States Marshals Service, the Mount Dora Police Department, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk Watson is prosecuting the case.

Operation Take Back America

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative. The operation aims to address illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime.

An indictment represents a formal charge that a defendant has committed federal criminal law violations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.