Accused Rapist Deported By ICE 13 Days Before Trial Is Back In Miami-Dade County

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- A man charged with sexual assault, who was deported by ICE before he could be put on trial, is now back in Miami-Dade County.

Werner Orozco is awaiting trial for the 2018 rape of a woman in Coral Gables.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle says he was physically removed from the Dade County jail by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and allowed to live as a free man in Guatemala.

Fernandez Rundle said once he was back in Guatemala, Orozco often traveled from there, through Panama, to the Bahamas where he was employed as a bartender at a local tourist spot.

"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."

His deportation came less than two weeks after his arrest.

However, he is now back in custody in Miami-Dade County, where he will stand trial on the sexual assault charge.