Operation Predator and foreign child sex offenders in New York City

Marsha Kranes:

Federal agents working with the city Probation Department yesterday rounded up 45 child predators and criminal alien sex offenders.

The 45 - including 20 illegal aliens and 25 legal permanent residents from 19 different countries - were all on probation for felony or misdemeanor convictions involving sex crimes against children.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents transported the 45 to detention centers, where some face deportation proceedings and others face hearings before an immigration judge.

Among the 45 was a Bangladeshi national convicted of having intercourse with his 14-year old cousin; a Trinidad citizen convicted of raping his 15-year-old stepdaughter; and a Romanian woman convicted of endangering the welfare of a 13-year-old boy.

Those picked up in the four-borough sweep "represent the worst of the worst," said city Probation Commissioner Martin Horn.

The roundup was part of ICE's Operation Predator, which has been responsible for the arrests of more than 9,000 child predators and sex offenders nationwide - more than 600 of them in New York - since it was launched in mid-2003.

"Our message is clear: If you are preying on our children, we will find you, arrest you and, if you are not a U.S. citizen, we will remove you from this country," said Martin Ficke, New York ICE special agent in charge.

Over 40 Immigrants Arrested In Citywide Child Sex Offender Bust

Immigration agents arrest 45 sex offenders in New York City