Honduran migrant charged in Fairfax County rape was let out of jail early for good behavior

A Honduran migrant with a lengthy criminal history charged last week with rape in Fairfax County had been released from jail days earlier — apparently for good behavior.

Denis Humberto Navarette Romero, the undocumented immigrant accused of raping a woman last week along the Washington & Old Dominion Trail in Herndon, Virginia, was behind bars just days before the attack after being arrested for indecent exposure in October.

Navarette Romero pleaded guilty to the indecent exposure charge on Nov. 13 and was sentenced to 50 days in jail, but the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office told The Washington Times it’s common for judges to grant early releases to inmates who behaved themselves while locked up.

The sheriff’s office said in misdemeanor cases like Navarette Romero’s indecent exposure arrest, judges can have a defendant serve half of their sentence before setting them free.

Court records show Navarette Romero was arrested Oct. 20 in the indecent exposure case, and the sheriff’s office said he was kept in jail as his case progressed. Following his guilty plea on Nov. 13, he was released the next day — 25 days into his 50-day sentence.

The 31-year-old migrant was arrested in the stranger rape along the W&OD Trail near downtown Herndon less than a week after he got out of jail. He’s charged with rape and abduction with intent to defile, and is currently being held without bond.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Washington field office said it filed a detainer request Tuesday for Navarette Romero with the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. ICE said it’s unsure when the suspect entered the country illegally.  

Fairfax County, like most of the Virginia suburbs around the District, is a sanctuary county that doesn’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement except for the most violent cases.

“I am heartsick for this victim and outraged that local Fairfax County officials recklessly release violent illegal immigrants who should have been prosecuted and deported. This is a dereliction of their most basic duty to keep people safe,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, said in a statement.

“Prioritizing violent illegal immigrants over the safety of Fairfax residents is unacceptable,” he continued. “Virginia is not a sanctuary state. When President Trump takes office, the political posturing will end, and localities will cooperate with ICE to protect Virginians.”

Police records show Navarette Romero has been arrested in violent confrontations in the past, including with Herndon police officers.

Authorities responded to a sexual battery report in June 2022 in which Navarette Romero was accused of slapping a woman’s rear end on the 1200 block of Elden Street.

But once officers arrived on the scene, police records said the migrant tried to run away and became hostile when officers attempted to arrest him.  

The report said he grabbed one officer by the throat “really hard” and hit another one in the face. Navarette Romero was so belligerent police said it took four officers to finally bring him under control and handcuff him. 

Records show the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office later downgraded the case from felony aggravated assault to misdemeanor simple assault.

“We weren’t asked to provide input on that,” Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard told local ABC affiliate WJLA-TV.  “You know, my officers were victims in that case. We would hope that victims would be asked about their input on this, and we certainly wouldn’t have agreed to have that reduced to a misdemeanor.”

Court records said Navarette Romero pleaded guilty to the assault charge in January 2023 and was given a three-year sentence. However, the judge suspended 27 months of his term, so he wound up serving only nine months in prison.

In January 2018, records show Navarette Romero was accused of fondling a 14-year-old, and exposing himself to a pair of siblings who were 13 and 10 at the time. 

Police got in touch with the siblings’ father, who told police the reported exposure incident happened over a year earlier. The father said he banned Navarette Romero from his home and decided not to call police because the family “did not want any problems.” 

Navarette Romero has also been arrested in weapons and auto theft incidents in the past, but has never served significant jail time for the offenses.