The Union County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 27-year-old Jose Fermin Vilcherrez-Inga, an undocumented immigrant, on January 9, 2026, on charges including statutory rape, statutory sex offense, and indecent liberties with a child under 16.
According to BustedNewspaper.com, Vilcherrez-Inga was arrested by Union County authorities on a charge of first-degree rape. The booking details list his age as 27, race as white, and sex as male. No bond amount was specified, and no additional incident description was provided in the report.
The Child Welfare League of America reported that in 2022, North Carolina had 107,536 total referrals for child abuse and neglect. This included 23,134 unique victims at a rate of 9.9 per 1,000 children. Physical abuse accounted for 10.1% and sexual abuse for 8.1% of maltreatment types according to data from child protective services in the state.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that at least one in four girls and one in twenty boys in the United States experience child sexual abuse. About 90% of such abuse is perpetrated by someone known to the child or family. The lifetime economic burden was estimated at $9.3 billion in 2015.
The Union County Sheriff’s Office serves as the primary law enforcement agency in Union County, North Carolina. It handles patrols, criminal investigations, detention operations, and public safety initiatives under an elected sheriff to enforce laws and support community programs.
