Edys Renan Membreño Díaz, a 30-year-old Honduran national currently serving six to 15 years in Michigan state prison for raping and sodomizing a woman with cerebral palsy and cognitive delays, has been described by U.S. District Judge Judith Levy—an Obama appointee—as a “hardworking family man” who deserves leniency on federal immigration charges.
According to court documents, Díaz raped the victim twice in July 2022 while illegally entering the United States seven times since 2021. Federal prosecutors seek an additional two years for his immigration violations, arguing it would address the severity of his conduct and act as a deterrent.
Levy’s sentencing transcript reveals she rejected that penalty entirely, instead granting Díaz time already served toward his federal sentence and a $100 fine. In her remarks, Levy praised Díaz for “supporting his family,” “expressing devotion to them,” and performing jobs Americans allegedly avoid—citing his reported loss of two siblings to violence in Honduras and his mother’s dependence on him.
The judge framed the rapist as a “praiseworthy figure” who had “promoted respect for the law” by vowing not to enter the U.S. illegally an eighth time. Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Fairchild criticized Levy’s ruling as an “unreasonable departure from the guideline range,” while DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin condemned it with the phrase “Unspeakable Depravity.”
The government has appealed, emphasizing Díaz’s history of repeated illegal entries and his violent crime against a vulnerable victim. A federal appeals attorney noted Levy “unreasonably discounted the serious nature” of Díaz’s offenses and misapplied sentencing rules by allowing credit for prior state incarceration.
