As election nears, Republicans blame child's rape on immigration crisis

A Long Island man who was charged with raping a 5-year-old girl last month was in the country illegally, police said Friday as local Republican officials sought to connect the disturbing case to the bitter debate over immigration just days before the presidential vote.

The man, Wilson Castillo Diaz, 27, is a Honduran migrant who crossed into the United States via the Rio Grande Valley in 2014 before Border Patrol agents detained him, police said. Castillo Diaz skipped an immigration hearing and was last living in Westbury, New York, authorities said.

Castillo Diaz was arrested Oct 22, but local officials did not publicize the case until Friday, days before the end of an election season in which immigration has played a central role.

Former President Donald Trump has sought to stir nativist sentiment from the campaign trail, and the large influx of migrants in New York City has stoked fears of a surge in crime, though that largely has not been reflected by crime statistics.

At a news conference Friday, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said the arrest of Castillo Diaz was the latest "illustration and evidence" of why authorities in his county closely watch for migrants in the country without legal permission.

Blakeman, a Republican, said police waited more than a week to announce the arrest to protect the identities of the victim and her family.

Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, a Long Island Republican locked in a tight race for reelection, in a statement blamed "the weak border security measures put into place by the Biden-Harris administration and their progressive allies," for allowing the alleged attack to happen.

Laura Gillen, the Democrat facing D'Esposito in a rematch of 2022, called the alleged attack "a heinous crime" in a statement. She added that "anyone who comes here illegally and commits such a vile act should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, punished accordingly, deported and never allowed back in."

Castillo Diaz crossed into the United States during the Obama administration, in 2014, when Joe Biden was the vice president. That year, Kamala Harris, who is running against Trump, was reelected attorney general of California.

Few details about the case were released. Last week, Castillo Diaz was charged with first-degree rape, first-degree attempted rape and endangering the welfare of a child. He pleaded not guilty to all three charges.

Police said the girl was taken to a hospital after the assault. Officials did not provide information about the relationship between Castillo Diaz and the girl, citing privacy concerns. Authorities also did not share the circumstances of Castillo Diaz's arrest.

The Legal Aid Society of Nassau County is representing Castillo Diaz. The attorney assigned to his case did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Nassau County police Commissioner Patrick Ryder urged anyone who knows Castillo Diaz to contact law enforcement to aid in the investigation and identify any other possible victims.

But much of the news conference Friday focused not on the case but on the politics of immigration.

"The policies in Washington have made us a sanctuary country," Blakeman said, referring to the shorthand that has been used to describe places that limit how local law enforcement can cooperate with federal immigration agents.

Some accused Blakeman of trying to benefit politically from the attack and subsequent arrest.

"This is a serious allegation that deserves careful attention and resources," said Theo Oshiro, co-executive director of Make the Road New York, a pro-immigration advocacy group. "But what we don't need is more people playing politics like Bruce Blakeman is trying to do."

Recent studies have found that immigrants are less likely to be imprisoned or have felony arrests than people born in the United States. But Trump's portrayals of immigrants who cross the nation's southern border as criminals and rapists have put the spotlight on crimes committed by migrants.

As of this summer, more than 210,000 migrants had arrived in New York City since spring 2022, a two-year influx that has strained social services and the city's reputation as accepting of immigration.

Castillo Diaz is being held in Nassau County jail on a $200,000 bond. Police said they had notified officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.