Deportee faces child molestation charge

0
34

A former Griffin man cleared to be deported to Guatemala after being being housed in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Atlanta has been transferred to Fayette County on charges of aggravated child molestation stemming from an incident that occurred here in 2009.

Fayette County Sheriff’s Investigator Josh Shelton said former Griffin resident Joel Arnoldo Estrada-Morales, 39, has been charged with aggravated child molestation and is being held in the Fayette County Jail.

Shelton said the incident that occurred in 2009 involved an 8-year-old child who was a family friend of Estrada-Morales.

Shelton said a warrant was taken approximately one week ago after the victim confirmed Estrada-Morales’ identity.

Subsequent to his being placed in ICE custody, Estrada-Morales had been arrested by a law enforcement agency in metro Atlanta, Shelton said.

Shelton said that, while in ICE custody, the final order had been signed to deport Estrada-Morales to Guatemala.