Del Rio Judge Gives Salvadoran 20-Year Sentence for Reentry; Child-Sex Convictions Cited

U.S. District Judge Ernest Gonzalez in Del Rio imposed a 20-year federal prison term on Salvadoran national Celso Rivas‑Gonzalez in February 2026 after finding he illegally re‑entered the United States following prior removals, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas said. The sentence is the statutory maximum for the unlawful re‑entry count as charged.

Prosecutors say Border Patrol agents arrested Rivas‑Gonzalez on July 26, 2025. By that time, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported, he had been deported twice, most recently on Feb. 19, 2025. The office publicized the case on its social media account, U.S. Attorney WDTX on X, and noted the 20-year term will be served in the federal prison system.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office cited Rivas‑Gonzalez’s criminal record in seeking the maximum penalty. Prosecutors’ account lists a 2024 conviction for indecency with a child and a 2021 harassment felony that was reduced from an aggravated sexual‑assault charge. The office characterized the sentence as “a clear message that repeat offenders who sneak back in after deportation are squarely in their crosshairs,” according to the public account.

The charge filed against Rivas‑Gonzalez was unlawful re‑entry after removal under the federal unlawful re‑entry framework, commonly associated with 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Under that statute, federal commentary and legal notes explain, the baseline maximum for unlawful re‑entry is typically two years, rises to 10 years if the defendant has prior felony convictions, and can reach 20 years if a prior removal followed an aggravated felony. The U.S. Attorney’s Office described the term handed down as the statutory maximum for the offense as charged; the public material does not state whether the earlier removals followed convictions that immigration law treats as aggravated felonies.

Court records and public materials available in the U.S. Attorney’s Office announcement do not provide a specific day in February 2026 for the sentencing, do not identify a defendant plea or trial disposition on the unlawful re‑entry count, and do not name defense counsel or list the federal facility where Rivas‑Gonzalez will serve the 20-year term. The U.S. Attorney WDTX post and the office’s account of arrest, deportation dates, prior convictions, and sentencing comprise the factual record publicly released to date.

With the sentence entered by Judge Ernest Gonzalez in Del Rio federal court and the U.S. Attorney’s Office publicizing the result, further detail such as the formal judgment, sentencing transcript, or court docket entry would be needed to confirm the sentencing date, plea status, and whether any appeal or post‑sentencing motions have been filed.