Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a Guatemalan man in Chattanooga, officials said, following an underage sex sting and the man’s subsequent conviction.
ICE accused Leyvis Edi Velasquez-Perez, 28, of illegally entering the country at an unknown time and location in a Facebook post Wednesday. On April 24, he pleaded guilty to solicitation of a minor, according to court records.
He was sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered to register as a sex offender, which he did, according to online records.
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In 2024, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Chattanooga police conducted a joint internet prostitution sting in the Lookout Valley area, according to an arrest report. Velasquez-Perez responded to an undercover internet post on an adult escort website.
Over the phone, he agreed to pay an undercover officer posing as a 16-year-old female $100 for sex, according to an arrest report.
When he arrived at the hotel to meet with the undercover officer, Velasquez-Perez was arrested and charged, the report said. He would not speak to officers without his lawyer, immigration and defense attorney Blake Gilbert.
Gilbert said by text that although ignorance of the law is not an excuse for the illegal conduct his client pleaded guilty to, many of his Central American clients are surprised to learn the age of consent is higher in Tennessee than in their home countries.
“It is an unfortunate occurrence, but if one decides to immigrate to another country, then one should be sure to learn and to understand the laws of that country,” Gilbert said. “And likewise endeavor to abide by those laws and to live in accordance with the moral standards of the culture of that country.”
Still, Gilbert did not wish to pass judgment on universal morality or the criminal laws of other countries, he said. When making a moral judgment about a person — not a legal one — he said differences in culture and international laws should be considered.
“If ICE, or the police, are portraying him as a morally reprehensible person, then that portrayal is incorrect,” he said.
In light of the culture and country from where he came, Velasquez-Perez did not believe himself to be participating in morally reprehensible conduct, Gilbert said, adding that his client accepted responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty.
As with any client, Gilbert said he ensured Velasquez-Perez understood the potential immigration consequences of his conviction.
Though Gilbert routinely represents immigrants in removal proceedings after criminal cases, he said he is not doing so in this case.
(READ MORE: Northwest Georgia student in ICE custody after traffic stop)
Prosecutor Lee Ortwein said by text that everyone in the state is deemed to know and abide by the laws, and that undercover police stings are used for a variety of crimes ranging from drugs to human trafficking.
“These operations clearly benefit society,” he said, “and are a lawful method used by police.”
His office focuses on prosecuting crimes it believes can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, followed by the obligation to protect citizens and punish offenders.
“There are often collateral consequences of a conviction, which, depending on the circumstances, may be regrettable,” he said, “but such consequences cannot be permitted to interfere with our duty and obligations to which all state prosecutors are sworn.”
According to ICE, Velasquez-Perez also had convictions for driving without a license and failing to obey traffic laws in Walker County and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, respectively.
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Contact courts reporter Mason Edwards at medwards@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6409.
