A legal filing from the defense attorneys representing Kilmar Abrego Garcia highlighted the claims of Female Witness-1 (FW-1), who provided information to investigators that was shared with the court by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Peter Joseph.
According to the filing, which was submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee last Wednesday, this female witness is a 20-year-old woman who is within the country illegally.
She claimed she was sexually propositioned by the alleged human smuggler five years ago, when she was approximately 15-years-old, and Abrego Garcia was about 25-years-old.
His defense attorneys wrote that FW-1, “told the government that approximately five years earlier, she and Mr. Abrego had a ‘sexualized relationship’ that included Mr. Abrego requesting ‘naked pictures’ on Snapchat,” a social media platform designed to have disappearing messages.
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez alleged last year that these disappearing messages helped attract sexual predators, including those who force minors to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Adding context to the claims, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers said that FW-1 is “seeking deferred action on deportation in return for her efforts,” and that her family members are involved with the Barrio 18, or 18th Street Gang, which Abrego Garcia successfully persuaded an immigration judge that he feared in 2019.
Prosecutors recently alleged in their original motion to detain Abrego Garcia, who has denied being a member of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), that the citizen of El Salvador fled the country due to his involvement in the murder of the mother of a member of Barrio 18, which is a rival gang to MS-13.
The filing also confirmed the existence of FW-1, and that she claimed to have been asked for inappropriate photographs by Abrego Garcia, but did not describe the extent of their alleged interactions.
It also stated that FW-1, “believed him to be a member of MS-13 based on her personal experiences with both MS-13 and a rival gang known as 18th Street.”
Prosecutors previously confirmed the existence of two alleged co-conspirators through the filing, with both men alleging they received complaints from women, who were previously smuggled by Abrego Garcia, and claimed he acted sexually inappropriately during their trips.
These allegations about Abrego Garcia’s treatment of women come in addition to the two complaints of spousal abuse which were previously filed by his wife.
Notably, none of the claims about Abrego Garcia’s treatment of women and children appear within the DOJ indictment unsealed as he was returned to Tennessee from El Salvador in June.
However, the federal indictment claimed at least one minor was being smuggled by Abrego Garcia when he was stopped by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) in November 2022, an encounter with law enforcement that was first reported by The Tennessee Star in April.
According to the indictment, the THP troopers who questioned Abrego Garcia obtained identifying information about his passengers. This information included birth dates, revealing one passenger claimed to have been born in 2007, making the passenger 15-years-old in 2022.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys have suggested this individual would have been motivated to lie to authorities, as illegal immigrant minors are given protections not afforded to adults.
In addition to its early reporting of Abrego Garcia’s encounter with Tennessee law enforcement, The Star was told by THP that troopers were instructed to release Abrego Garcia by the “Biden-era FBI” despite their suspicion he was engaged in human trafficking.
The filing by Abrego Garcia’s attorneys was submitted ahead of a hearing on Wednesday, when U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw will hear arguments before determining whether to grant a hearing to determine if the El Salvadoran should remain in DOJ custody until his trial.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
