Zim man up for rape, immigration violation in US

A ZIMBABWEAN, who has been staying illegally in the United States for two decades, is facing deportation after immigration authorities grabbed him after a court appearance in which he had been charged with rape of an intoxicated woman.

Alois Mutare (42) is said to have entered the US legally in 1999 but violated the terms of his visa before disappearing off the radar.

Mutare, a resident of Worcester, Massachusetts, was picked up by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement during routine enforcement actions targeting at-large criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants and other immigration violators.

Mutare is alleged to have raped the 25-year-old woman on the night of 21 December. Although the woman said she did not remember getting into Mutare’s car, which was in the vicinity of the bars where she was drinking, but she remembered a man hovering over her while she was in a drunken stupor.

However, despite the woman’s hazy memory from the night of the alleged crime, surveillance footage allegedly showed Mutare having intercourse with the woman who at one point is said to have crawled away from his car before going back in again.

Mutare, according to law enforcement agents, maintained that sex between them had been consensual.

“If I need sex, it’s simple to ask, you can ask for sex and get sex if you want,” he allegedly told police.

Mutare was indicted last month on a charge of rape and five counts of larceny and is now in ICE custody pending immigration processes.

“Mutare, who legally entered the US in 1999, significantly violated the terms of his admission and overstayed his temporary visitor status by nearly 20 years and is subject to removal proceedings,” ICE said in a statement.

“He was arrested on felony rape charges by Boston police in December 2019 and indicted earlier this month on those charges.

“He was arrested by ICE following his release from local criminal court on March 4.

“He will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings before a federal immigration judge.”

Boston, where Mutare was picked up, is a sanctuary city, which means it is a municipal jurisdiction that limits its co-operation with the national Government’s effort to enforce immigration law.

Leaders of sanctuary cities say they want to reduce fear of deportation and possible family break-up among people who are in the country illegally, so that such people will be more willing to report crimes, use health and social services, and enrol their children in school.

Since the election of Donald Trump as president, ICE officials have been at loggerheads with authorities in sanctuary states.