SIOUX CITY, IA (Northwestiowanow) — A Guatemalan man arrested in O’Brien County has pleaded guilty in federal court to illegal reentry into the United States and failure to register as a sex offender.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa, 27-year-old Sergio Niz-Mendez entered the guilty plea Monday, March 23, in U.S. District Court in Sioux City.

Prosecutors say Niz-Mendez was previously deported from the United States in 2018 and did not have legal permission to return. Court documents also state he was required to register as a sex offender due to a 2016 conviction in Massachusetts for rape of a child with force but failed to do so.

Niz-Mendez was located in O’Brien County after being arrested on state charges of operating while intoxicated and eluding law enforcement.  Sentencing will be scheduled following completion of a presentence investigation report. Niz-Mendez remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshal.

He faces up to two years in prison for the illegal reentry conviction and up to 10 years in prison for failing to register as a sex offender, along with potential fines and supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of Operation Take Back America.