ICE agent charged with sexually abusing foster child

An agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was arrested Thursday and charged with sexually abusing a foster child in his care, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Carlos Nava, 30, pleaded not guilty Friday to seven counts of performing sex acts on a child, the district attorney’s office said. Nava’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kelsey McKeever-Unger, the deputy district attorney handling the case, identified Nava as an ICE agent. A spokeswoman said the agency “holds its officers to the highest standards of professional conduct and does not tolerate those who violate the law.” The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general helped the Pomona Police Department with its investigation of Nava, she added.

Between December 2017 and May 2019, Nava, who lived in Pomona, performed sex acts on the teen, according to a complaint filed in Pomona Superior Court. Nava was the teen’s foster father, McKeever-Unger said.

As of Friday morning, Nava was being held in lieu of $250,000 bail, McKeever-Unger said. He is due to return to court April 9. If convicted on all counts, Nava could face up to seven years in prison, the district attorney’s office said.