ICE Plans Removal of Massachusetts Teacher Facing Child Rape Charges

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intends to seek the deportation of a Massachusetts high school teacher, Patrick Akpore Nsumei, who faces several charges related to child rape. An immigration detainer has been placed following his arrest.

ICE revealed it filed the detainer with the Lowell Police Department on July 22. Nsumei, 54, is accused of aggravated rape of a child, using force in the rape of a child, and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. A detainer is a formal request from federal immigration officials to local law enforcement, hoping they will inform ICE before the individual is released or hold them briefly so ICE can take over custody.

“ICE will assume custody pending his criminal proceedings with the state,” an ICE spokesperson said. They emphasized the Trump administration’s stance against criminal illegal aliens and highlighted efforts to remove violent offenders from communities.

Newsweek has contacted both Boston Public Schools and Nsumei’s attorney for comments but has not received a response.

Nsumei is currently held without bail at the Billerica House of Correction. This follows Lowell District Court Judge John Coffey’s decision during a dangerousness hearing on July 31. He deemed Nsumei a threat to public safety, ordering him held for up to 120 days as the case advances.

Prosecutor Sheehan McCarthy conveyed that the alleged victim reported the abuse to Lowell police on June 27. The prosecution claims the abuse occurred repeatedly between 2017 and 2021 and argued that Nsumei remains a community danger.

In his defense, Nsumei’s attorney, Thomas Mixon, contested these allegations, stating no physical evidence supports them, as reported by The Boston Herald.

The Boston Herald also confirmed that Nsumei was employed as a science teacher at a Boston public high school. As of Sunday, his details were removed from the school’s staff website. The allegations do not involve a student from Boston Public Schools, and the district has not confirmed whether Nsumei is still employed or on leave.

The charge of aggravated rape of a child carries a potential life sentence, with parole eligibility after 10 years. Nsumei is due back in court on September 1 for a probable cause hearing.

This case is highlighted as part of ICE’s focus under the Trump administration on criminal aliens, emphasizing on arrests for serious violent and sexual crimes as part of a public safety mission.