Little Canada man charged in Mounds View sexual assault after release from immigration detention

MOUNDS VIEW — Marcotulio M. Melendez Diaz, 42, of Little Canada, is charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman while performing handyman work at her Mounds View home on October 12, 2026. The allegation comes about two months after a federal judge ordered his release from immigration detention on due-process grounds.

According to the Ramsey County criminal complaint described by the Pioneer Press, the woman had previously hired a handyman she knew as Marcos. She told investigators she had rejected his romantic advances. When he returned for additional work on October 12, she said he stayed for dinner and then repeatedly refused requests to leave.

The complaint alleges he later pulled her from a chair and sexually assaulted her despite her objections and attempts to push him away. The accusations have not been proven in court. This article is withholding identifying details about the woman.

Melendez Diaz was charged by warrant October 26 and arrested October 28, according to the November 6 account. That report listed bail at $150,000 and a November 25 court appearance. It said his attorney did not respond to a request for comment. Those custody and scheduling details reflect the report’s November 6 update.

ICE says Melendez Diaz is a Honduran citizen who was encountered by Border Patrol in April 2024 and placed in removal proceedings. The agency says it arrested him again January 16, 2026, during Operation Metro Surge and transferred him to the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center in Texas. An immigration judge ordered his removal March 30, and he appealed.

On August 7, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia of the Western District of Texas granted his habeas petition and ordered his release because his continued detention violated his due-process rights, according to the Pioneer Press. He was released August 8 and returned to Minnesota. A public federal docket independently lists the habeas case, filed March 27, and an August 7 order concluding it.

ICE says the Board of Immigration Appeals subsequently dismissed his appeal and that an immigration detainer has been issued. Published accounts give differing dates for the appeal’s dismissal. ICE has criticized the federal release order and argued the alleged assault could have been prevented had he remained detained. That is the agency’s position; the release ruling addressed his immigration detention and preceded the alleged October assault.

Melendez Diaz is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. The immigration proceedings and detention ruling are separate from the pending Minnesota criminal charge.

Sources: Pioneer Press report by Nick Ferraro dated November 6, 2026, reviewed for this article; Alpha News — charge and complaint reporting; federal habeas docket, Western District of Texas, 5:26-cv-02083.