http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/0 ... 543275.txt




Suspect asks to be deported


By BRANDON COUTRE - bcoutre@nwherald.com
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WOODSTOCK – It’s not every day that an illegal immigrant asks a federal judge to be deported back home, but Mexico might be a better option than a potential 30-year prison sentence in the United States.

Prosecutors on Tuesday said a Cary teenager, while free on bond, asked a federal judge to deport him so he could duck criminal sexual-abuse charges in McHenry County for allegedly abusing a 4-year-old girl in March 2006.

A federal judge granted Jose Pablo Vallejo’s deportation request this month, but McHenry County Judge Sharon Prather on Tuesday increased Vallejo’s bond to $750,000 to prevent the deportation.

He then was taken to the McHenry County Jail.

“The defendant shouldn’t be able to escape the consequences and punishments of his actions by voluntarily returning to Mexico,” said Tiffany Davis, a McHenry County assistant state’s attorney.

Criminal defendants who are illegal immigrants and on the radar of immigration officials usually are handed over to federal authorities when they post bond at local jails.

Vallejo’s attorney, Perry Grimaldi, however, said the federal judge’s deportation order should stand. “That order is issued by the federal government. Their law is supreme over the state law.”

Though only 16 at the time of the alleged crime, Vallejo, now 17, is being tried as an adult because of the age difference between him and the alleged victim. Police were notified of the alleged crime after a baby sitter walked in on Vallejo while he was abusing the girl, prosecutors have said.

On Nov. 28, Vallejo, who has been in the United States since 2004, posted 10 percent of his $150,000 bond to secure his release from the McHenry County Jail.

“Usually, sex offenders are unable to post bond to begin with,” said Nichole Owens, criminal chief of the McHenry County state’s attorney’s office. “Especially when they are not citizens.”

After posting bond, Vallejo was taken into custody by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, when he asked a federal judge to deport him. The request was granted Jan. 4, and a deportation date was set for earlier this month.

But before he was handed a one-way ticket to Mexico, a representative from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement contacted McHenry County prosecutors to alert them of the pending deportation, which led to Tuesday’s bond hearing.

If convicted of the crime, Vallejo could be sentenced to six to 30 years in prison.





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