We have talked frequently on our Baltimore sex offenses defense blog about how charged with a sexual offense can be damaging to an individual’s credibility and livelihood in the community. This is doubly true for someone who is an immigrant to our country. A conviction on some type of sexual abuse charge could lead to deportation proceedings.
Another theme we have championed on our blog is that people who have been charged with serious sex crimes need to remember that being charged with something isn’t the end of the world; a charge does not guarantee a conviction.
After a long road, a Sudanese immigrant has finally been cleared of charges that he intended to commit sexual assault after making contact with a 14-year-old girl at a public library. The man gave the girl his phone number and the two talked the following day. Unbeknownst to the man was the fact that the girl had told her mother about the man; her mother subsequently called police, who were listening in on the call.
The man and the girl agreed to meet the following day; when the an arrived a the library, he was arrested. The man’s attorney argued unsuccessfully that his client was the victim of police entrapment. The man was sentenced to three to six years in prison. He finished his term in April, but by then had been granted a new trial. Late last month, government attorneys requested that the case be dismissed; it was, and the man’s conviction was vacated.
Source: Lincoln Journal Star, “State drops Lincoln man’s attempted sex assault case,” Lori Pilger, Jan. 2, 2014
