06-05-2025
Location where ICE found fugitive migrant 'child rapist' will make every parent's blood run cold
ICE agents found a child rapist hiding out at a Massachusetts daycare center.
Andre Tiago Lucas was sentenced to nine years in jail in his native Brazil after being found guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2016.
But he fled to the US before beginning his sentence and eventually settled in Massachusetts.
Lucas, 36, wa s picked up by ERO officers in Bourne last October.
Boston 25 News reports that he was living at a daycare in Hyannis owned by Franciele Nunes which has subsequently closed.
Nunes had been licensed by the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) for three years, during which time her premises was inspected five times.
However, no trace of Lucas was ever discovered, a fact which raised alarm bells for State Representative Steven Xiarhos.
'You've really got to, I think, go out of your way to make sure each place is as safe as it should be,' he told Boston 25 News.
'And that's with proper background checks, looking around when you visit to see if there's any signs of anything wrong.'
The EEC confirmed it only became aware of Lucas' presence at the daycare four months after his arrest.
The agency conducts background checks for anyone aged 15 or above living in or attending home daycares, however they do not include foreign criminal history checked.
Immigration status also does not factor in the checks, meaning Lucas would have slipped through undetected even if EEC had been aware of his presence.
'[It's] terrifying … that someone has been documented, that a Brazilian national fled the country because they were convicted for rape of a 13-year-old and could come to Massachusetts and not only disappear into the fabric of Massachusetts, but actually be living in a home that was a daycare center for young people,' Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis told Boston 25 News.
The daycare center claims to focus on, 'safety, fun, and learning while creating a loving environment that families in Hyannis trust', according to a profile on
Lucas was convicted by the Sole Court of the District of Serro, Minas Gerais, Brazil, December 6, 2016, of rape of a vulnerable person and sentenced to serve nine years and four months incarceration.
Lucas was set to serve nine years in jail for raping a teenager in Brazil but instead fled to the US and settled in Massachusetts
Following his arrest in Bourne, he was placed in custody where he is expected to remain during immigration proceedings.
Lucas was listed as an inmate in the Plymouth Correctional Facility as of Tuesday afternoon.
'This Brazilian fugitive has been convicted of a heinous crime in his native country,' said acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde of ERO Boston.
'Rather than face the consequences for his actions, he chose to flee, falsely believing he could evade justice in Massachusetts.'
