A Chinese national facing multiple indecent assault charges spanning years was arrested on an immigration detainer, ICE said in a release Tuesday.

“Yao Zhang has been charged with some serious and disturbing crimes against inhabitants of our Massachusetts neighborhoods,” said Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons. “He represents a threat to residents that our officers cannot allow to continue.”

Zhang, 43, was arraigned on three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years old in Dedham District Court on May 6, 2022.

Two years later, he was arrested under the same charge and arraigned in Cambridge District Court on April 3, 2024.

The charges related to alleged assaults during massages given by Zhang, a Norfolk County DA spokesperson and Boston Globe reporting stated.

Following his first arraignment in 2022, Zhang was released without posting bail due to reforms mandating release of “a defendant without history of default or prior criminal history,” Norfolk DA spokesperson David Traub said. He was ordered to stay away from the victim, not work as a masseuse and surrender his passport.

“His arrest in Middlesex County triggered a 120-day bail revocation, and $5,000 cash bail was set on each of the two cases – Norfolk and Middlesex,” Traub said. “After the 120-day incarceration, he had the means to post the aggregate $10,000 cash bail and was eventually taken into ICE custody.”

The day Zhang was arraigned for the second alleged assault, ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer with the Middlesex County Sherriff’s Department. He was taken into custody in Medford by deportation officers on July 5.

ICE did not immediately respond to state whether Zhang may be deported before facing criminal proceedings in Cambridge or Dedham.

U.S. Border Patrol initially arrested Zhang on Sept. 26, 2019, for unlawfully entering the country, and ICE ordered him to appear before a immigration judge on Oct. 26, 2019.

Zhang was released on an immigration bond by ERO Oakdale (Louisiana) on Dec. 13, 2019, which was revoked by ERO Boston following his 2024 arrest.

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ICE stated detentions are “not punitive,” and officers “weigh a variety of factors when making general custody determinations, including criminal record, immigration history, community ties, flight risk, and whether the individual poses a potential threat to public safety or national security.”

The office will “prioritize public safety by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our New England communities,” Lyons said.