A Guatemalan national previously convicted of negligent homicide was sentenced to 78 months in prison for illegally reentering the United States and attempting to engage in sex with a minor, according to an announcement from David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Rafael Vincente Vincente, also known by several aliases including “Rafael Vicente Vicente,” “Vincente Carlos Vincente,” “Carlos Vincente,” “Carlos Vicente,” “Rafael A Vincente,” and “Rafael A Vicente,” is 41 years old and last resided in New London. U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala handed down the sentence in Hartford.
Court records show that in October 2004, Vincente was convicted in Connecticut Superior Court of negligent homicide and evading responsibility for a motor vehicle accident resulting in death. He received a 10-year sentence, which was suspended after serving 13 months. In July 2005, he was deported to Guatemala.
Authorities said that Vincente later returned to the U.S. On June 7, 2024, Groton Town Police arrested him during an undercover operation after he responded to an online advertisement on Skip the Games—a website often used for commercial sexual activity—and traveled to a hotel in Groton intending to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex.
Vincente has been held since his federal arrest on November 21, 2024. He pleaded guilty on September 4, 2025, to illegal reentry and admitted attempting to entice or solicit a minor in violation of federal law.
The investigation involved U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Gordon prosecuted the case.
“U.S. Attorney Sullivan thanked the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of New London for its cooperation in the prosecution of this case.”