LOWELL — Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it plans to take custody of a Lowell man accused of raping a child and seek his deportation, calling him a “criminal illegal alien from Nigeria.”
ICE said in a statement to The Sun that it lodged a detainer request on July 22 with the Lowell Police Department for 54‑year‑old Patrick Akpore Nsumei, following his arrest on charges including aggravated rape of a child, rape of a child with force, and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.
A detainer asks local authorities to hold a person for ICE or notify the agency before release. The agency said in their statement that they “will assume custody pending his criminal proceedings with the state.”
Nsumei is currently being held without bail at the Billerica House of Correction after he was found a danger to the public during a 58A dangerousness hearing in Lowell District Court on July 31.
“Under President Trump and Secretary (Markwayne) Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.,” the statement concluded. “ICE is working diligently to remove these violent, dangerous offenders from our communities.”
It was revealed during Nsumei’s dangerousness hearing that he is a teacher at Brighton High School, which is part of Boston Public Schools. He was listed on the school’s website as a science teacher but that has now been removed. District officials have not responded to inquiries about whether they are aware of the charges, whether he remains employed, or whether any administrative action has been taken.
The alleged victim in this case is not connected to Boston Public Schools and is not a student in the district.
During the dangerousness hearing, Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Sheehan McCarthy detailed allegations that the victim disclosed to the Lowell Police on June 27, describing what she called the “repeated rape” of the child between 2017 and 2021.
“The Commonwealth also submits he’s a danger to the community at large as he’s a demonstrated pedophile and rapist,” McCarthy told Judge John Coffey during the hearing.
Nsumei’s attorney, Thomas Mixon, countered that there is not a “scintilla of physical evidence to corroborate” the allegations.
“If you believe what the Commonwealth argued here … I respectfully suggest there would be physical evidence,” Mixon told Coffey. “A pediatrician more than likely would have picked up on these types of things.”
Coffey ultimately sided with prosecutors, ordering Nsumei held without bail for up to 120 days in the Billerica House of Correction as the case moves forward in court. If the case is still pending when that period expires, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office can seek another 58A hearing to continue holding him.
The top charge in the indictment, aggravated rape of a child, includes a potential sentence of life in prison with a possibility of parole after 10 years.
Nsumei — who court records show has an address on Butman Street in Lowell — is currently scheduled to return to court for a probable cause hearing on Sept. 1.
Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.
Original article
Comments