An illegal alien convicted of molesting a child was released by a North Carolina sanctuary county despite federal immigration officials requesting he be turned over to them for arrest and deportation.

Marvin Ramirez Torres, a 26-year-old illegal alien from El Salvador, was released by the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office after being convicted Tuesday of sexually abusing and molesting an 11-year-old girl. A judge sentenced Torres to time served because he had spent about two years in prison, allowing him to escape additional jail time.

The release of Torres came after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requested that Buncombe hold the illegal alien in prison until he could be turned over to the agency. Instead, Sheriff Quentin Miller decided to release Torres back onto the streets, forcing ICE agents to then find and arrest the illegal alien on their own.

“This is yet another example of a clear public safety threat being released into North Carolina communities rather than into ICE custody due to local sheriff policies on ICE non-cooperation,” said Acting ICE Director Matt Albence in a statement. “Continued decisions to refuse cooperation with ICE serve as an open invitation to aliens who commit criminal offenses that these counties are a safe haven for persons seeking to evade federal authorities, and residents of Buncombe County are less safe due to these misguided sanctuary policies.”

Since February, Buncombe County has shielded and protected criminal illegal aliens from arrest and deportation by ICE — choosing to instead release them back into American communities.

As Breitbart News reported, the sanctuary county of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, is expected to soon release two illegal aliens charged with raping children and an illegal alien woman charged with trafficking heroin.

A July report by the Epoch Times noted research by North Carolinians For Immigration Reform and Enforcement (NCFIRE), which stated that in the last one and a half years, more than 330 illegal aliens have been charged with nearly 1,200 child sex crimes in North Carolina. Over the last four and a half years, the NCFIRE’s research states that an average of 34 illegal aliens in North Carolina are charged every month with child sex crimes.

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