Thread: (ICE)Agency Seeks to Deport Man In Rape Case Under Appeal

ICE)Agency Seeks to Deport Man In Rape Case Under Appeal

http://stoptheaclu.com/archives/2007/09 ... eal/print/
Effort Will Proceed Regardless of Court Outcome

This is an update to a FOXNews article posted Washington Post link.

By Ernesto Londoño
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 20, 2007

BALTIMORE, Sept. 19 —

Immigration officials intend to deport a Liberian man who avoided trial in a child-rape case this summer in Montgomery County primarily because of difficulty in finding him a court interpreter, authorities said Wednesday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement senior attorney Christopher R. Coxe said the agency will seek to deport Mahamu Kanneh, who was in the United States legally after being granted refugee status as a teenager, regardless of the disposition of the rape case, which is under appeal. Kanneh was arrested in 2004 on charges of raping a 7-year-old relative and abusing another child.

Mahamu Kanneh, a legal U.S. immigrant from Liberia, was charged with raping a child and abusing another. The case was dismissed after a court interpreter could not be found.
Mahamu Kanneh, a legal U.S. immigrant from Liberia, was charged with raping a child and abusing another. The case was dismissed after a court interpreter could not be found.

“There is no indication that [Kanneh] would be eligible for relief from removal,â€

Prosecutors Plan Appeal Despite Deportation Order posted 10:04 am Mon November 12, 2007 - Rockville, Md. tags: deportation • charged • rape • sex

The deportation of a Liberian man charged with rape and sex crimes in Montgomery County is not dissuading prosecutors from trying to reinstate those charges against him.

Mahamu Kanneh was ordered to be deported last week, after his sexual abuse case was dismissed this summer when he didn't get a speedy trial. The 23-year-old immigrant from Rockville was charged in 2004 with the rape of a 7-year-old girl. The trial was postponed several times because court officials could not find an interpreter fluent in his dialect.

The charges were dismissed this summer when a judge ruled his right to a speedy trial had been violated.

Prosecutors said they want to create a legal precedent by reinstating the charges, and also issue an arrest warrant that may discourage Kanneh from attempting to re-enter the country.

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1107/471815.html