BOSTON—A convicted rapist from Mexico who was deported more than two decades ago has been hit with federal charges after authorities say he paid a smuggler to sneak back into the United States — then hid out in a quiet Massachusetts town for years, where he went on to commit horrific crimes.

Eugenio Isidro Victoriano, 54, is now facing a charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien on top of a state prison sentence of four to six years for rape, indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, and larceny.

The case has laid bare a stunning chain of failures — including a 2021 arrest in which police fingerprinted Victoriano, matched him to his immigration records, and still let him walk free before federal authorities could intervene.

Victoriano was first encountered by U.S. Border Patrol agents near El Paso, Texas, in April 2004, when he was found to be unlawfully present in the country. He was subsequently removed to Mexico.

But prosecutors say that at some point after his deportation, Victoriano paid a smuggler to bring him back across the border — without any inspection or legal authorization — and made his way to western Massachusetts, where he would remain undetected for years.

In February 2021, Victoriano was arrested in the small Berkshire County town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

Fingerprints taken during that arrest matched his prior immigration records — confirming he was the same man who had been deported years earlier.

Yet in a staggering failure of the system, Victoriano was released from state custody before immigration authorities could take action. No one stopped him. No one held him. He simply walked out.

The consequences of that failure were devastating. Less than two years later, in December 2022, Victoriano was arrested again in Great Barrington — this time on far more serious charges of rape, indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years of age, and larceny under $1,200.

Crimes that might never have happened had he been turned over to federal authorities when he was identified in 2021.

He pleaded guilty to all charges in November 2025 and was sentenced to four to six years in state prison, with credit for time served. Immigration authorities lodged a detainer following his arrest.

After his conviction, prosecutors say Victoriano admitted that he was not a U.S. citizen, that he had paid a smuggler to enter the country, and that he had no legal authorization to be in the United States.

The federal charge of unlawful reentry carries a potential sentence of up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The sentence would be in addition to his state prison term.

Upon completion of any sentence imposed, Victoriano is subject to deportation.

The case was announced by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston.

The question many will be asking: how was a previously deported man — whose fingerprints were on file, whose identity was confirmed by police — allowed to walk free and hide out in Massachusetts long enough to destroy another person’s life?