An illegal alien who was previously released on bond has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl in Gwinnett County, Georgia.

Illegal alien Ruben Alvarado, 24-years-old, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl in 2015 that his grandmother once babysat, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was not allowed to put Alvarado on an ICE hold at the time of the charges due to an Obama-era presidential directive that prevented illegal aliens from being turned over to federal immigration officials before their conviction, Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Deputy Shannon Volkodav said.

Due to this sanctuary policy, the illegal alien was allowed to be released on bond into the community before the rape conviction, serving only a “few weeks” in prison, Volkodav said.

Alvarado was out on bond for three and a half years.

“It’s shocking that a child predator was released into an unsuspecting community simply because federal laws that should protect them were not in place at the time of his arrest,” Sheriff Butch Conway told the Gwinnett Daily Post.

“One can only hope he didn’t victimize other children while he was free on bond,” Conway said. “Fortunately, the 287(g) program operating under the current administration allows us to place a detainer under these circumstances, which greatly helps us protect our community from these child predators.”

Alvarado was convicted on one count of rape and one count of child molestation. The illegal alien was given a mandatory minimum sentence of life with the first 25 years in prison.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.