ICE Issues Detainer for Mexican National Facing 30 Felony Sex Charges in Indiana
Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer with Indiana officials for Leonel Catalan Torreblanca, arrested April 22 2026 in Indianapolis on charges that include rape, sexual battery, criminal confinement, kidnapping, strangulation and burglary. The request keeps him in custody for potential removal after prior deportations and illegal re-entry in 2023.
foxnews.comImmigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer April 22 2026 with Indiana officials requesting that Leonel Catalan Torreblanca, a Mexican national, not be released from local custody.
Torreblanca faces 30 charges for crimes spanning 2013-2024 that include rape, sexual battery, criminal confinement, kidnapping, strangulation and burglary. He also holds prior convictions for patronizing a prostitute, voyeurism and driving under the influence. The detainer targets a repeat offender who illegally re-entered the United States in 2023 after previous removals.
The action affects one individual currently held in Indiana on the new charges. ICE detainers apply to noncitizens with criminal convictions or pending charges who are subject to removal under federal immigration law. Indiana officials are cooperating with the request to transfer him to ICE custody upon resolution of the state case.
The detainer changes the prior state in which a local jail could release the individual after posting bond or case disposition without notifying federal authorities. The new state requires Indiana to hold Torreblanca for up to 48 hours after his state custody ends so ICE can assume custody and initiate removal proceedings. The change takes effect immediately upon the lodging of the detainer.
Downstream, Indiana must coordinate the handoff to ICE once the 30 pending charges reach disposition. Federal removal proceedings against Torreblanca will begin after the transfer, triggering standard expedited processing for aggravated felons with multiple prior deportations.
The cooperation also sets precedent for other state and local agencies holding similar high-risk offenders, requiring them to review ICE detainer requests before release.
This is the latest documented use of an ICE detainer against a serial sex offender identified in state custody. The agency has lodged such requests for individuals with prior removals and subsequent illegal re-entry since the 2013-2024 crime series began. Per the Department of Homeland Security release, ICE is asking Indiana officials to hand him over to ICE custody.
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