(KIWA Staff Photo)Sioux City, Iowa (KUOO) — A Guatemalan man living in Sheldon has been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison after pleading guilty to illegal reentry and failure to register as a sex offender.
27-year-old Sergio Niz-Mendez pleaded guilty in March to one count of illegal re-entry and one count of failing to register as a sex offender.
At his plea hearing, Niz-Mendez admitted he is a citizen of Guatemala and had previously been removed from the United States in 2018 after serving prison time for a 2016 felony conviction. He also admitted that he had not sought permission to legally return to the U.S.
Prosecutors say Niz-Mendez was required to register as a sex offender due to a 2016 conviction in Massachusetts for rape of a child with force, committed when he was 15. He failed to register while living in Iowa.
In December 2025, Niz-Mendez was found in O’Brien County after being arrested for operating while intoxicated and eluding.
He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.
Niz-Mendez is being held in the U.S. Marshals custody pending transport to a federal prison.
