Honduran man's bid to dismiss rape conviction rejected by judge after ICE deports him before sentencing

A Nassau County judge rejected a Honduran man’s request to overturn his rape conviction after federal immigration officials deported him before he could be sentenced.

Alex Morales Dominguez, 33, pleaded guilty to third-degree rape in October after he had been charged with having sex multiple times with a 16-year-old girl that he had met at a local gym, according to court records. The age at which a person can consent to have sex in New York is 17.

Morales Dominguez admitted to the crime in exchange for a 6-month jail sentence with 10 years of probation, officials said. He also would have likely been made a registered sex offender if he had been at the sentencing hearing, according to his defense attorney, Christopher Graziano.

Instead, Morales Dominguez, who lived in Freeport, was arrested Dec. 2, 2025 after his pre-sentence interview at the Nassau County Department of Probation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, his lawyer said.

Supreme Court Justice Teresa Corrigan signed two orders, on Jan. 21 and Feb. 19, directing the Nassau County Sheriff’s department to bring him to court for sentencing, but according to prosecutors, they failed to do so.

Morales Dominguez missed his originally scheduled sentencing day on Dec. 18, 2025, because he was in ICE custody. The hearing was rescheduled for Jan. 15, which he also missed because of his detention. He was eventually moved from New York, to immigration detention in El Paso, Texas.

After missing the rescheduled sentencing, Corrigan told the prosecutor to "put the sheriff’s department on notice that should I learn that they are the ones ignoring this court’s order ... this court may look into potential contempt proceedings should this become necessary."

According to the assistant district attorney’s brief, the office had been having difficulty with the sheriff’s department getting multiple defendants returned for hearings after they had been arrested by ICE.

Corrigan rescheduled the case for sentencing a third time for April 8, but on March 12, federal immigration officials deported Morales Dominguez back to his native Honduras. He had been held for 3 months in immigration detention, but could receive no credit for his time served, his lawyer said.

Graziano argued in his motion to dismiss the case that because the sheriff’s department failed to act, his client’s sentencing has been indefinitely postponed, violating New York State law against "unreasonable delay."

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman previously said through a spokesman that deporting Morales Dominguez saves taxpayer money.

Graziano said the delay in sentencing is a byproduct of Blakeman's policy to work with ICE to deport migrants.

"This was a policy choice on the part of Nassau County, which determined it was more beneficial to the public to promptly deport undocumented defendants even before they were incarcerated for a crime," the lawyer said.

Prosecutors blamed the sheriff’s department.

"The fact that the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department failed to execute the orders that could have brought this defendant before the court prior to his deportation should not be imputed to the People," prosecutor Amber Kempermann wrote in her brief opposing the dismissal.

Sheriff Anthony LaRocca, through a county spokesman, did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.

The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office has requested at least two dozen court orders requesting the sheriff’s office retrieve other defendants from ICE custody, according to records obtained by Newsday through state public records law.

It’s unclear how many immigration detainees the sheriff's office have returned from ICE custody to Nassau County for criminal proceedings.

In January, Wilfredo Blanco Molina, 41, of El Salvador, was deported to his native country before he could be sentenced to up to 4 to 12 years in prison. He admitted to being drunk when he fatally struck Robert McCarthy, who was riding his bicycle in Hicksville on Oct. 27, 2024. Police found Blanco Molina a quarter of a mile down the road with a flat tire and damage to his car. His blood alcohol level was 0.22%, nearly three times the legal limit.

Corrigan, in her decision on the Morales Dominguez case, wrote: "The case before this court presents a unique and increasingly common circumstance: a defendant who, having been convicted of a crime, either by plea or after trial, is removed from the jurisdiction by ICE and deported before sentencing." 

Ultimately, however, the judge determined that the length of the delay in his sentencing, which she calculated to be less than six months, did not meet the threshold for an "unreasonable delay."

Corrigan also said that prosecutors could still extradite Morales Dominguez from Honduras for sentencing.

The judge also suggested that the defendant was responsible for any delay because he migrated to this country illegally.

"Some may argue that defendant’s own unlawful presence in the United States and subsequent deportation caused this delay, eliminating any claim of governmental fault," she said.

The judge said that she would not fault the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office for the failure of the sheriff’s department, adding that "any inaction by the sheriff may be addressed through contempt proceedings."

Still, Corrigan did allow Graziano to file a motion to dismiss the case again in the future.

"There is no perfect solution to the challenges presented when a defendant is deported prior to sentencing," the judge wrote in her decision.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said that she would continue to pursue the case against Morales Dominguez.

“We appreciate the judge’s decision in this case and anticipate requesting an arrest warrant for the defendant at the next court date," Donnelly spokeswoman Nicole Turso said in an emailed statement. "We remain committed to ensuring that this defendant is held accountable for his appalling, criminal actions and that his victim sees justice.”