Man Arrested During Last Years Island ICE Raid Arraigned In Superior Court
David Creed •
One of the five individuals arrested and detained by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in September was arraigned late last month. The arraignment took place in Plymouth, however the case remains in Nantucket Superior Court.
Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo, 28, was arraigned on one charge of aggravated rape of a child (ten year age difference) and three charges of indecent assault & battery on a child under the age of 14. Arevalo had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf. Following a bail hearing, Arevalo had his bail set at $20,000 cash, $200,000 surety. He has posted the $20,000 cash bail, but continues to be held by ICE.
According to the statement of facts, the Nantucket Police Department was contacted by the New York City Police Department on July 11 after the 12-year-old victim and her mother had gone to the NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn to report the sexual assault. A social worker then contacted NYPD detectives. The incident allegedly occurred while the woman and her daughter were visiting family on Nantucket.
Nantucket Police participated remotely in an interview with the victim conducted by Safe Horizon, a child advocacy center in Brooklyn, in which she described the alleged sexual assault by Aldana-Arevalo, who is a relative.
ICE stated in September that Aldana had unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date and location "without having been inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official." During his arrest, Aldana was served with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge.
“Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo stands accused of some detestable and disturbing crimes against a Nantucket child,” said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. “He represents a significant danger to the children of our Massachusetts communities. ERO Boston will not tolerate such a threat to the most vulnerable of our population. We will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our New England neighborhoods.”
The aggravated rape charge carries a 10-year mandatory minimum jail sentence in state prison without the possibility of parole. Aldana-Arevalo was able to post the $20,000 cash bail following his arraignment in Nantucket District Court in late July, but at this point in time he remains held by ICE in the Plymouth Correctional Facility, where he has been since his arrest in September.
In other Nantucket Superior Court news, a second individual (not affiliated with the September ICE raid) was scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court this week but had his arraignment pushed back to May.
Jose Gerardo Serrano, 41, of Florida, was scheduled to be arraigned on February 21st before having it rescheduled to February 24th. At the request of Serrano’s defense team, the arraignment was postponed again to May 5th. He will be arraigned on one charge of indecent assault & battery on a child under the age of 14 and one charge of enticing a child under the age of 16.
Serrano’s arraignment will take place in Barnstable, but it remains a Nantucket case. Serrano was indicted by a Nantucket Grand Jury on December 16th, 2024. He was initially arraigned in Nantucket District Court in October of 2023 on June 21st, 2014 charges of indecent assault & battery on a child under 14 years old (two counts) and a charge of enticing a child under 14 years old.
According to the police report, on May 14, 2015 the alleged victim in the case – who was nine years old at the time – told police that she had allegedly been sexually assaulted by Serrano and touched inappropriately. She told police she would tell him to stop but he allegedly never did. This allegedly took place “more than one time but less than five times” at a residence on the island while she was eight years old.
Serrano was picked up on a straight warrant nearly a decade later in 2023. His attorney, Susan Wenzel, said during that bail hearing that her client denies every allegation against him and said this stems from “a fallout between Serrano and the alleged victim’s father.”