The search for a decade-long serial rapist has concluded with a repeat-offender illegal alien being charged. Mexican national Leonel Catalan-Torreblanca now faces 30 charges for serial rape in Indiana.
In addition to the rapes, Catalan-Torreblanca has an extensive criminal history, including multiple DUIs, voyeurism, and patronizing a prostitute. Perhaps most shocking of all, though, is the fact that with his criminal history, he was able to illegally enter the United States twice.
He was arrested by ICE for entering the country illegally in 2012, but was released by the Obama administration. ICE arrested him again in 2017, and he voluntarily returned to Mexico in 2018. In 2023, he entered the country illegally again, this time under the Biden administration.
The decade-long string of rapes took place from March 2013 to January 2024. Local and federal investigators did recover forensic evidence from the crime scenes, but they were unable to match it to him because his genetic profile had never been entered into federal databases. That changed when an ICE-collected swab was uploaded into an FBI database, leading investigators to a confirmed DNA match to Catalan-Torreblanca.
Had the Obama and Biden administrations not allowed him to enter the country, or at least not released him, the vicious rape spree might have never happened or been stopped much earlier. Open borders advocates preach compassion and caring all day long. Yet for the victims of horrific murders and rapes by illegals? Nothing but silence.
Leonel Catalan-Torreblanca did not come into the United States to escape oppression or build an honest life. He came to violently indulge his worst appetites because he knew open borders liberals would let him get away with it. And they did for more than a decade.
No matter what leftists say, their policies prove over and over again that being soft on immigration only increases crime. In fact, ICE data from 2025 shows that roughly one-third of those removed from the country had prior criminal convictions or pending charges.
Texans for Strong Borders believes in protecting Americans first. Countless tragedies suffered by the American people are wholly preventable and unnecessary. Doing so requires fully securing the border and enacting mass deportations.
Texans for Strong Borders has released a list of policy priorities we will be taking before the Republican Party of Texas at the state convention in June. Our goal is to ensure lawmakers know exactly where Texans stand on issues affecting our sovereignty and security. Take a look at the list to see what more our government could do to stop criminals like Leonel Catalan-Torreblanca.