BOSTON, MA — A Brazilian national wanted for the rape of a 13-year-old child in his home country was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston on October 31st in Bourne, MA. But the shocking story didn’t end there. According to a local news outlet, the suspect, Andre Tiago Lucas, was living in a licensed home daycare on Cape Cod. The daycare has subsequently closed its doors.
According to Boston 25 News, the family daycare owned by Franciele Nunes in Hyannis, MA, was home to Lucas, who is reportedly the father of Nunes’ two children. The business was reportedly licensed by the state Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) for three years up until March, when Nunes allowed the license to expire.
Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis expressed his alarm to the outlet after learning of the situation, “The idea that someone has been documented, that a Brazilian national fled the country because they were convicted for rape of a 13-year-old and could come to Massachusetts and not only disappear into the fabric of Massachusetts, but actually be living in a home that was a daycare center for young people. That’s terrifying.”
Boston 25 followed up with the EEC confirming that the home daycare was inspected on five different occasions, but there was never any evidence uncovered to indicate Tiago Lucas was living there. Per the report the EEC has already mandated background checks for any persons residing in or regularly visiting any home daycares in the state above the age of 15 or older.
However, current state regulations do not require those checks to extend to criminal history records from outside the United States. Meaning that even if he was identified as living there, authorities would not have caught Tiago Lucas’ Brazilian conviction and the 9-year prison sentence he fled from.
State Representative Steven Xiarhos told reporters, “You’ve really got to, I think, go out of your way to make sure each place is as safe as it should be. And that’s with proper background checks, looking around when you visit to see if there’s any signs of anything wrong.” Xiarhos, a 40-year law enforcement veteran, added, “Our children are innocent. And when they go to a daycare, it’s almost like we’re putting their lives in the hands of others.”
He observed that the incident has sparked new concerns about Massachusetts's oversight of in-home daycares and the limits of background check procedures.
According to Boston 25 News, the family daycare owned by Franciele Nunes in Hyannis, MA, was home to Lucas, who is reportedly the father of Nunes’ two children. The business was reportedly licensed by the state Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) for three years up until March, when Nunes allowed the license to expire.
A convicted child rapist from Brazil, Andre Tiago Lucas, was found living in a licensed Massachusetts daycare. Background checks missed his past, as they don’t cover foreign records. Authorities only discovered his presence months after his arrest, raising serious safety concerns pic.twitter.com/h0Kc5QEttc
— Wayne DuPree (@TheDupreeReport) May 6, 2025
Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis expressed his alarm to the outlet after learning of the situation, “The idea that someone has been documented, that a Brazilian national fled the country because they were convicted for rape of a 13-year-old and could come to Massachusetts and not only disappear into the fabric of Massachusetts, but actually be living in a home that was a daycare center for young people. That’s terrifying.”
Boston 25 followed up with the EEC confirming that the home daycare was inspected on five different occasions, but there was never any evidence uncovered to indicate Tiago Lucas was living there. Per the report the EEC has already mandated background checks for any persons residing in or regularly visiting any home daycares in the state above the age of 15 or older.
However, current state regulations do not require those checks to extend to criminal history records from outside the United States. Meaning that even if he was identified as living there, authorities would not have caught Tiago Lucas’ Brazilian conviction and the 9-year prison sentence he fled from.
State Representative Steven Xiarhos told reporters, “You’ve really got to, I think, go out of your way to make sure each place is as safe as it should be. And that’s with proper background checks, looking around when you visit to see if there’s any signs of anything wrong.” Xiarhos, a 40-year law enforcement veteran, added, “Our children are innocent. And when they go to a daycare, it’s almost like we’re putting their lives in the hands of others.”
He observed that the incident has sparked new concerns about Massachusetts's oversight of in-home daycares and the limits of background check procedures.
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Comments
2025-05-09T00:26-0400 | Comment by: Chris
" it’s almost like we’re putting their lives in the hands of others.” No, not almost. You ARE putting their lives in the hands of others.
2025-05-12T09:49-0400 | Comment by: Nancy
That is true Chris. With what's going on with children, no parent should leave their most precious children for 7 or 8 hours a day! There is no one that would nurture and care for your kids more than YOU. I mean if a child was an ounce of gold you can bet they wouldn't leave that with strangers! It's just not worth it.