Buncombe man gets prison term in child sex offense plea deal

A 22-year-old Buncombe County man will serve 94 to 173 months in prison, then be turned over to federal immigration authorities, after pleading guilty in a child sex offense case prosecutors said was resolved to spare the victim and the victim’s family further trauma.

Feliciano Roblero entered the plea on April 21 to attempted first-degree statutory sex offense in Buncombe County. He had been held in custody since his arrest on March 30, 2023, on a secured bond and an active immigration hold. After he finishes his sentence in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, he will be transferred to federal immigration authorities for deportation.

The charge carries serious weight under North Carolina law. First-degree statutory sexual offense is a Class B1 felony and applies when a person engages in a sexual act with a child under 13 and is at least four years older than the victim. The plea deal puts a fixed prison term in place now, while leaving immigration consequences to follow after his release from state custody.

The Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office said the arrangement was intended to avoid additional harm to the victim and the family. Prosecutors said no further information would be released in the case. That limited comment is typical of child-sex prosecutions, where court outcomes often balance punishment, victim privacy, and the practical reality that a plea can end a case without a trial.

Roblero’s sentence also lands in a county where child-sex cases have recently carried both prison and immigration consequences. In a January 2026 Buncombe County case, Wilver Estuardo Ramirez-Perez pleaded guilty to statutory rape, received 44 to 65 months in prison, and was told he would be subject to deportation after serving the sentence. Together, the cases show how Buncombe prosecutors are handling statutory sex offense cases through plea agreements that can resolve criminal exposure while preserving the option of federal removal.

The immigration piece remains sensitive in Buncombe County, where Sheriff Quentin Miller said in 2019 the county would no longer hold detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement without a valid warrant, a position that later drew criticism from federal and state officials. Roblero’s case, with both a criminal sentence and an immigration hold already in place, reflects the continuing overlap between local criminal courts, victim protection, and federal deportation enforcement.