The suspect in a rape on Cape Cod illegally came back to the United States after previously being removed from the country, authorities said.

Antonio Ferreira was recently arrested by deputy sheriffs from the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office on rape and assault charges out of Barnstable Superior Court.

The sheriff's office, which received U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement approval to enforce immigration laws on a local level, flagged Ferreira as an illegal immigrant and took him to Barnstable County's new field office.

He will also be processed at ICE's field office in Boston.

Ferreira was served an Immigration Department Notice in August 2005, according to a news release. Seventeen months later, in January 2007, he was ordered removed from the United States.

He went back to Brazil three months later. Authorities said they do not know when he came back to the United States again, for a second time.

Authorities are now working to remove Ferreira from the United States.

Sheriff James M. Cummings released a statement after the arrest.

"This cooperative program is officially off to a good start. The end result will never change," he said. "It will make our county and our country a safer place. If that means doing it one case at a time, so be it. This is exactly why we wanted to be involved in this program. So, individuals like this would not be released to the community in Barnstable County."

Rebecca J. Adducci, interim Field Director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston, said she values teaming up with the sheriff's office.

The work with the sheriff's office allows for the "removal of dangerous criminal illegal aliens like Ferreira," she said.