Chicago - On Aug. 18, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Chicago O'Hare International Airport arrested Yuri Ermakov, 28, on a 2007 warrant for sexual assault. A fugitive for three years, Ermakov who was a high school coach, was convicted of a sex crime involving a student.
In July 2007, Ermakov, an assistant track coach at University High School in Champaign, Ill., was convicted of criminal sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl. He was also convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for providing alcohol to two underage girls. While the jury was in deliberation on his court case, Ermakov fled to his native Russia.
Three years later, CBP officers at O'Hare apprehended Ermakov when he arrived on a flight from France and turned him over to the FBI and University of Illinois police in Champaign, Ill. after processing his arrival.
"CBP officers arrested this sex offender after a positive identity match revealed that he was the subject of a National Criminal Information Center or NCIC warrant," said Brian Humphrey, acting CBP Director of Field Operations in Chicago. "This is another fine example of our CBP border search authority in action and partnership with our law enforcement partners to catch fugitives who try to run from the law."
While welcoming and processing all legitimate travelers and trade into this country, CBP officers enforce a host of U.S. laws at the borders to keep terrorists and other dangerous persons such as fugitives out of our neighborhoods. CBP also prevents narcotics, agricultural pests and smuggled goods and other contraband from entering and exiting the country.