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Miami – (August 14, 2020) – Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, in cooperation with Gadyaces S. Serralta, the United States Marshal for the Southern District of Florida, Coral Gables Police Department Chief Ed Hudak, and the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, announces the Miami-Dade return of charged sexual assault defendant Werner Orozco.
Prior to standing trial in 2018, Orozco had been physically removed from the Dade County Jail by United States Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported back to his home country of Guatemala to live as a free man. This occurred thirteen (13) days after he was arrested by Coral Gables Police for raping a young woman he knew. Once returned to
Guatemala, Orozco often traveled from Guatemala, through Panama, to the Bahamas where he was employed as a bartender at a local tourist spot. This troubled law enforcement officials.
“Deporting Werner Orozco without requiring him to face these serious criminal charges
undercut the very credibility of our criminal justice system. Neither I nor our law enforcement partners could ever allow that to stand,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.
“The victim deserved so much more. I am grateful for the diligence and commitment of my
prosecutors and staff in the Extradition Section of the Legal Unit of the Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office, the commitment of the Coral Gables Police Department, the United States Marshals Service, the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and Panamanian Law Enforcement for their unwillingness to allow Orozco to remain free with a pending rape charge. This criminal case will finally be resolved in a courtroom.”
According to police reports, the alleged assault occurred August 12, 2018 in Coral Gables after Orozco and the victim had gone out together. Upon returning to the victim’s residence, Orozco allegedly proceeded to physically pin the victim against her kitchen countertop and forcibly raped her. On September 11, 2018, Orozco was taken into custody by the City of Coral Gables Police Department and charged with sexual battery. Thirteen days later, he was deported without the knowledge of the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, the Coral Gables Police or the victim. A criminal Information was filed by prosecutors charging Orozco with sexual battery and efforts began to have him returned to Miami-Dade County to face these charges.