Canadian fugitive wanted for sexual assault arrested by ICE after 30 years on the run
- Charles Peter Billone, a Canadian fugitive wanted since 1991 for sexually assaulting a child, was arrested by ICE in Santa Cruz, California after 30 years on the run.
- Billone, 64, was charged in Canada with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual interference involving his nine-year-old stepdaughter and possibly her friend, but failed to appear in court after his release.
- Hamilton police had renewed efforts to find Billone in 2014, suspecting he assumed another identity and may have been living in Manitoba or New Brunswick, but he was only recently apprehended and is now in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
- The arrest marks the end of a decades-long manhunt highlighted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's commitment to finding and removing foreign criminals hiding in the country; details of how he was tracked remain undisclosed.
A Canadian man who has been wanted since 1991 for allegedly sexually assaulting a child has been arrested by ICE in the United States after 30 years on the run.
Charles Peter Billone, 64, was arrested in Santa Cruz, Calif., earlier this month. According to ICE records, he is currently in custody at the Golden State Annex detention facility pending removal proceedings.
On Aug. 4, following Billone’s arrest, San Francisco’s Enforcement and Removal Operations X account shared a post detailing his crimes.
“ICE San Francisco arrested Charles Peter Billone, 64, in Santa Cruz,” the post read. “A fugitive from Canada since 1991, he has stolen property, assault, and drug convictions, and is wanted in Canada for sexual assault involving a child. He is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”
ICE San Francisco arrested Charles Peter Billone, 64, in Santa Cruz. A fugitive from Canada since 1991, he has stolen property, assault, and drug convictions, and is wanted in Canada for sexual assault involving a child. He is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. pic.twitter.com/dgViEQelwO
— ERO San Francisco (@EROSanFrancisco) August 4, 2026
Billone, who was living in Hamilton, Ont., when he was accused in Canada, was arrested in 1991 for two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual interference. However, he failed to appear in court after being released on a recognizance, as reported by CBC.
Under Section 151 of the Criminal Code of Canada, sexual interference is defined as touching any part of the body of a person under age 16 for a sexual purpose.
Toronto Sun previously reported that Billone is accused of sexually assaulting his nine-year old stepdaughter for three years, and that Hamilton police also believe he sexually assaulted his stepdaughter’s friend.
In 2014, Hamilton police renewed efforts to track Billone down. “Charles Billone no longer exists,” Det. Paul Henderson of Hamilton police’s fugitive apprehension unit said at the time. “We can’t find him through any traditional means.”
They said Billone may have assumed another identity to evade capture and believed at the time that he could have been living in Manitoba or New Brunswick, where he has family connections.
His arrest in Santa Cruz marks the end of a three-decade-long manhunt. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also shared news of his capture on X, writing: “Foreign criminals cannot hide in the shadows — we will do whatever it takes to find them and remove them from our nation.”
Officials have not shared details of how he was tracked down.
The news comes shortly after Kaitlyn Tracey, 33, also from Canada, was detained by ICE following an incident in which she slapped a teenager in Trump-branded clothing on the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk in New Jersey.
It later emerged that Tracey was living in the U.S. on an expired visa and, on Aug. 4, a Texas immigration judge ordered that Tracey return to Canada after she entered a guilty plea on an assault charge.