LYNN — A Lynn mother took matters into her own hands after a man allegedly contacted her 11-year-old daughter and offered her money for sex.
Cesar Perez, 48, of Lynn, was arrested by Lynn Police on July 31 and charged with child enticement under the age of 16. After his arrest, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer with police. Perez is a Guatemalan national who was previously removed from the U.S. in 2014.
Perez, who is identified by ICE as Perez-Diaz, illegally re-entered the country sometime after his initial deportation, according to John Mohan, a Public Affairs Officer and spokesman from ICE.
“Upon resolution of the pending local charges and any subsequent jail sentence, ICE will seek to take custody of Perez-Diaz and remove him to Guatemala for a second time,” Mohan said.
Perez sat before Judge James LaMothe for his Aug. 3 dangerousness hearing and agreed to be held without bail before he was taken into ICE’s custody, according to Steve O’Connell from the Essex County District Attorney’s office.
The ordeal began when Perez approached the 11-year-old girl near her home. On July 30, Perez approached the girl again, accosted her and gave her his cellphone number. Her mother called Lynn Police after her daughter told her what happened.
On July 31, the girl’s mother took her phone and began messaging Perez via WhatsApp, posing as her daughter in order to arrange a time for them to meet publicly, according to the police report.
The mother arranged for Perez to meet her daughter as she got off the bus, in the area of Summer Street. The 11-year-old then got off at the bus stop with her mother and a family friend trailing behind them, so they couldn’t be seen by Perez.
As this was going on, the mother was in contact with a Lynn Police dispatcher giving them updates and informing them of their location, according to the police report.
Before Perez approached her, the girl pulled out her phone and pressed play on an audio recording app so she could record what he said. In the recording Perez could be heard asking her for sex. After she told him she was 11 years old, he said he thought she was 15 years old, according to the police report. He also reportedly tried grabbing the girl’s hand while asking her if she was a virgin. When the girl answered yes, Perez stated they could “go slow.”
As the encounter continued, Perez heard sirens and became nervous. That’s when the first police cruisers arrived at the scene, according to the report. The girl’s mother pointed towards her daughter and Perez, who were directly in front of her, and the responding officers took Perez into custody.
Perez will remain in the custody of ICE until his pre-trial hearing on Aug. 28.