Illegal immigrant arrested in raid for sexual abuse

An illegal immigrant was arrested during an undercover police operation against suspected child sexual abuse in New York State. Another suspect committed suicide during the operation.

Wilver O. Laparra-Gonzalez, 34, is accused of paying $80 to have sex with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl, when in reality he was an undercover police officer.

The Throop resident, who entered the United States illegally, was arrested in early August as part of an undercover operation, and more arrests followed this week.

Laparra-Gonzalez was charged with attempted second-degree rape and attempted second-degree sexual assault on August 8 and is being held on an arrest warrant issued by ICE.

His arrest at the Melone Village Apartments was related to an Auburn City Police investigation into child sexual exploitation.

“It is very disturbing to me how many people in our community are willing to sexually exploit children,” Cayuga County Sheriff Brien Schenk told The Citizen on Tuesday.

Also in the apartment complex in northwestern New York State was suspect Scott R. Demonte, 51, of Fayetteville.

When police arrived, he pointed a gun at them, then turned the gun on himself and fired a single shot, killing him while a police officer fired, missing the suspect.

“Based on all of the available evidence in this case, it is clear to me that Scott Demonte died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. It is also clear to me that the APD officer's shooting was justified at the time and did not hit anyone,” Schenk told The Citizen.

“The officers involved in this arrest attempt showed great restraint as this incident rapidly developed.”

On Tuesday, police arrested John E. Steinruck, 59, of Seneca Falls, and Junayd M. Abdulkhafid, 42, of Syracuse. Both were charged with attempted second-degree sexual abuse for allegedly attempting again to pay for sex with the underage girl.

The sheriff said Tuesday that there is no evidence so far that Demonte knew the other three suspects.

The sheriff's office worked with the Auburn Police Department, the New York State Police and the FBI on this case.

Newsweek reached out to ICE, the Sheriff's Office and Auburn Police Department for further comment Wednesday afternoon.

Because Laparra-Gonzalez is being held in immigration custody, he faces deportation action. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) will take custody of the suspect should he be released by local law enforcement.

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