A registered sex offender from Phoenix who is on parole for a child rape conviction in Arkansas remains in the Cochise County jail after being arrested for smuggling several Mexican children in his vehicle.
Lewis James White IV was taken into custody Jan. 8 after U.S. Border Patrol agents found a Mexican woman and her three children (ages 3, 15, and 16) in the backseat during a vehicle inspection along State Route 92 between Bisbee and Sierra Vista. The family had recently illegally entered the country, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statement.
White, 53, is a registered sex offender based on his conviction in 2003 for raping a 10-year-old girl in Arkansas. Records obtained from the Arkansas Supreme Court show White was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison after he admitted sexually abusing the girl multiple times.
How he came to live in Phoenix is unclear, but White registered in Arizona as a Level 2 sex offender shortly after the Arkansas Parole Board approved his release from custody in 2017. He is not to have any contact with children without prior authorization of his parole officer.
The parole board retains authority over White until his full sentence expires, and any revocation of parole would send him back to prison.
After White’s arrest, federal authorities decided to not prosecute him on human smuggling charges, as it could lead to the Mexican family members being separated as material witnesses, according to the CBP statement.
Instead, White’s parole officer was reportedly notified of his conduct. He remains in jail in Bisbee pending an extradition order for his return to the custody of the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
