Dulles CBP officers capture Salvadoran man fleeing Maryland felony child sex abuse charges

STERLING, Virginia – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested a Salvadoran man on Sunday at Washington Dulles International Airport who attempted to flee from Montgomery County, Maryland felony child sexual abuse charges.

CBP officers arrested Nelvis Gonzalez Purdencio, 43, of Germantown, Maryland, before he could board an El Salvador-bound flight. Gonzalez Purdencio is wanted by Montgomery County Police for sexual abuse of a minor, a third-degree felony.

Additionally, Gonzalez Purdencio is the subject of a September 2005 removal order for unlawfully entering the United States during July 2005, and a February 2025 arrest warrant for failing to appear for his removal.

CBP officers confirmed that the Montgomery County arrest warrant remained active and verified that Gonzalez Purdencio was the subject of the arrest warrant.

“This arrest illustrates how Customs and Border Protection officers help victims, including our most vulnerable victims of sexual assault, to have a voice by working with our law enforcement partners to capture and return wanted fugitives to justice.” said Christine Waugh, Customs and Border Protection’s area port director for the Area Port of Washington, D.C. “CBP will always do the right thing, and leverage all its resources and capabilities to identify and apprehend criminals while executing our border security mission."

Gonzalez Purdencio was turned over to officers from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Every day, CBP officers compare international passenger and cargo manifests to numerous law enforcement databases, including the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) to identify passengers and cargo that may require additional inspectional scrutiny, such as those with outstanding arrest warrants.

On a typical day last year, CBP processed an average of more than one million arriving travelers every day at our nation’s airports, seaports, and land border crossings, and on average arrested 44 wanted persons every day. See what else CBP accomplished during "A Typical Day" in 2024.

CBP's border security mission is led at our nation’s Ports of Entry by CBP officers and agriculture specialists from the Office of Field Operations. CBP screens international travelers and cargo and searches for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, invasive weeds and pests, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.

Learn more about CBP at www.CBP.gov.

Follow the Director of CBP’s Baltimore Field Office on X @DFOBaltimore for breaking news, current events, human interest stories and photos, and CBP’s Office of Field Operations on Instagram @cbpfieldops.