A migrant who anguished liberals by howling ‘I just want to be with my family’ as he was arrested by immigration officers is a suspected pedophile, police have claimed.
David Perez-Teofani, 36, was taken into custody Wednesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on the National Mall in DC.
Perez-Teofani, of Mexico, initially appeared calm as he exited his blue SUV during an apparent traffic stop, completely surrounded by masked local and federal police.
He tried to flee, but was almost instantly tackled to the ground by a Homeland Security agent, according to viral footage of the incident captured by NBC4 reporter Aimee Cho.
‘Sir, I don’t have anything, please,’ he screamed out in Spanish. ‘I don’t owe anything. I’m working. I want to be with my family.’
Perez-Teofani continued to plea with police: ‘I’m coming from work, please. I’m not a criminal. You’re hurting me.’
Liberals were outraged by the takedown and suggested it was unjust, with one saying his cries ‘hit me in the gut’ while another claimed ‘we’re better than this’.
But the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has since revealed that Perez-Teofani was arrested in Fairfax County, Virginia last year for aggravated sexual assault of a child under 13.
David Perez-Teofani, 36, was taken into custody Wednesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on the National Mall in DC. He screamed ‘I don’t owe anything. I’m working. I want to be with my family’ after he was tackled to the ground by a federal agent
Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Perez-Teofani’s arrests in a statement to the Daily Mail.
‘Yes this illegal alien from Mexico was previously arrested in January 2024 in Fairfax County for aggravated sexual assault of a child under 13,’ she said. ‘Glad he is off of Washington DC’s streets thanks to President Trump, Secretary Noem, and ICE.’
DHS claimed Perez-Teofani entered the US illegally three times and defied ‘a final order of removal’ after voluntarily returning to Mexico twice previously, NBC4 reports.
Fairfax County records show he was arrested and charged with indecent liberties with a child under the age of 15 and aggravated sexual battery in January 2024.
The charges were later dropped, for reasons that remain unclear. An ICE spokesperson reportedly told Cho that the ‘prosecutors refuse to prosecute’.
Perez-Teofani’s wife told the news outlet that she only learned her husband had been detained after a neighbor informed her that video of his arrest had been widely shared online.
Cho’s initial video of the arrest prompted a wave of outcry and support from social media users including Miami Herald investigative journalist Julie K. Brown
Cho’s initial video of the arrest prompted a wave of outcry and support from social media users.
‘His crying…hits me in the gut,’ Miami Herald investigative journalist Julie K. Brown wrote in a now-deleted tweet. ‘And we will probably never be told who he is, why he was stopped or if he was here illegally.’
‘We’re better than this, @Sec_Noem, or are we?’ questioned user @Emolclause.
‘Yes we should be way better. We shouldn’t have any hate in the USA,’ @NewbieForeva added.
But as more information unfolded about Perez-Teofani’s identity and alleged criminal past unfolded, his supporters became fewer.
‘This did not age well,’ @co65550286 said of the video.
User @RogerStomberg added: ‘Break the law, suffer the consequences. Simple as that.’
‘Maybe don’t try to run away from the police?! And of course his rap sheet isn’t too pretty…’ said @RebeccaRoseGold.
Other critics took aim at Cho for posting the video without having all the facts.
‘You tried to gaslight people into thinking he is an angel,’ wrote @JLRinvestigates.
‘He is a child rapist. He is, indeed, a criminal,’ echoed @BonnieBlueTK.
@Kangminjlee added: ‘He’s a suspected child s*x offender. Maybe include that very important detail in your reporting next time.’