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[notyoueither]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/22/national/main2113140.shtml

Sex Offender Chooses Canada Over Jail
Experts Question Legality Of Exile As Option To Imprisonment

BUFFALO, N.Y., Oct. 22, 2006

(AP) Jail or Canada? Malcolm Watson chose Canada.

In an unusual sentence that has immigration lawyers questioning its legality, the U.S. citizen has agreed to stay out of the United States for the next three years as punishment for having sex with a 15-year-old female student.

The exile starts Monday for the 35-year-old former Buffalo Seminary teacher, who was arrested in April after a mall security guard noticed him and the girl sitting in a parked car for two hours.

Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark called the plea deal "a little dicey" but said the girl's family was happy with it.

Under the sentence for sexual abuse imposed by Cheektowaga Town Court, Watson can enter the United States only to report to his probation officer. Watson already lives across the border in Fort Erie, Ontario, with his Canadian wife and three children.

But exiling a citizen is unheard of, said Robert Kolken, a Buffalo immigration lawyer.

"I don't see how a judge sitting in a criminal court in the U.S. can lawfully banish a citizen as a condition of sentencing," he said.

Cheektowaga Justice Thomas Kolbert could not be reached for comment.

Another immigration lawyer, Robert Berger, warned that Watson could be barred from entering Canada because of his new criminal record.

Even Watson's lawyer, Oscar Smukler, said he was surprised by the deal.

"We did some research on the question of whether Canada might consider throwing (Watson) out, which would make him a man without a country," Smukler said.

The alternative sentence? As much as a year behind bars.

©MMVI, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Another step in the development of the American Imperium?

A lot of people are finding this kind of humourous. I'm sure a few others will get angry.

[Donegeal]

Canada: America's Prison!

(and you all thought it was Mexico!!!)

[Kuciwalker]

His wife is still with him?

[SlowwHand]

Why is Canada receptive to acceptance of a person such as this?

[Thue]

Horrible - this must be a consequence of the US legalizing torture.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
Why is Canada receptive to acceptance of a person such as this?

I don't know that we are, but it's complicated by the fact that he has a Canadian wife and 3 children here.

[Kontiki]

A little more from the Canadian perspective:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2006/10/23/exile.html

U.S. teacher exiled to Canada after sexual abuse conviction
Last Updated: Monday, October 23, 2006 | 7:42 PM ET
CBC News

An American teacher convicted of having sex with a 15-year-old student has been exiled to Canada as punishment in an unusual case that has immigration experts divided over its legality.

A U.S. judge gave Malcolm Watson a choice between serving as much as a year behind bars or agreeing to a three-year exile at his home in Canada. Watson, a 35-year-old former teacher at Buffalo Seminary in New York state, chose Canada.

Under the sentence for sexual abuse imposed by Cheektowaga town court, Watson can enter the United States only to report to his probation officer. Watson lives across the border in Fort Erie, Ont., with his Canadian wife and three children. His sentence started Monday.

Robert Kolken, a Buffalo immigration lawyer, told the Toronto Star that exiling a citizen is unheard of.

"I don't see how a judge sitting in a criminal court in the U.S. can lawfully banish a citizen as a condition of sentencing," he said.

"The real issue is whether it's legal or not," he told the paper, adding that he wonders whether the sentence can even be enforced.

No assurances given

Erie Country District Attorney Frank Clark told CBC News the agreement was amenable to the state, but that no assurances were made to Watson.

"He asked us and the court for permission to serve his sentence while living with his family in Canada," Clark said.

"Our response was, 'We don't really care if you want to live in Canada. It's all right with us. We don't know if it's all right with the Canadian authorities. You'll have to take your chances with them."

Watson's lawyer, Oscar Smuckler, told the Buffalo News he looked into the implications of the sentence and thought it "unlikely that Canada will do anything" to upset the arrangement.

Immigration lawyer Marshall Drukarsh agreed with Smuckler's assessment.

"If an individual is a permanent resident of Canada and he has been found guilty in the United States of a crime and the equivalent crime in Canada is punishable by a term of imprisonment at most of, say, five years, then his permanent resident status in Canada is not in jeopardy," Drukarsh said.

Still, it remains to be seen how Canadian authorities will react.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Monte Solberg said that while he could not comment on the case because of privacy concerns, he could comment in general terms about how federal officials would deal with non-Canadians convicted of crimes elsewhere.

"If non-citizens pose a threat to Canada, we will do everything in our power to have that person removed as quickly as possible," he said in an interview with the Globe and Mail.

Citizen and Immigration spokesman Edison Stewart told the Star the Canadian Border Services Agency studies such situations on a case-by-case basis.

"Someone convicted of a serious offence would normally be barred from Canada. But every case must be examined as to the exact nature of the foreign conviction and its equivalency in Canadian law before a final determination is made by CBSA," Stewart said.

A CBSA spokeswoman told the newspaper she was not aware of Canadian pre-approval of the deal.

Different consent laws

Canada and the U.S. have different laws regarding sex with a minor, and Canadian approval for the deal may depend on whether Watson would have been charged with such an offence in this country.

In Canada, the age of consent is 14 years unless sex occurs during a relationship of trust or dependency — such as in a teacher-student relationship — in which case the age of consent rises to 18.

In June, the federal Conservatives moved to raise the sexual age of consent to 16 years from 14.

In New York state, the age of consent for male-female sex is 17.

Watson, described in media reports as a popular English teacher, pleaded guilty to having sex with a 15-year-old female student in a parked car in April.

According to the Buffalo News, the school fired Watson in April, after he had been suspended a month earlier for ignoring a previous warning to stay away from the student.

The girl's parents are reported to approve of the sentence because it means their daughter

[Kuciwalker]

it means their daughter what?

[Lul Thyme]

It's all over the news these days.
The fact is , it's been blown out of proportion.

It's just a fancy parole condition.
Like don't get within 10 kilometers of a cinema, except its the U.S.
Canadian immigration ppl are talking about trying to kick him out, but it will be hard because the laws for the crime he commited (indecent stuff with a minor) are a bit more lenient here and they would have to show he had a position of authority.
That is possible, since he was a teacher.
If that happens, theyll kick him out and he'll have to go in the US courts on parole violation and will go to US jails.


The summary is, if this hadnt been in the news, nobody would have done anything about it, and he would have spent 3 years in Canada.
Only because some ppl are in an outrage, some politicians had to step in.
What wasnt mentionned often enough is that he was ALREADY living in Canada for a while, so it's not like they SENT him to Canada as part of his sentence.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
it means their daughter what?

The final paragraph from 'tiki's link.

The girl's parents are reported to approve of the sentence because it means their daughter won't have to testify in public.

With files from the Canadian Press

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Donegeal
Canada: America's Prison!

(and you all thought it was Mexico!!!)

[Gangerolf]

well

you forgot about alaska coming in canada's backdoor

[Wezil]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
Why is Canada receptive to acceptance of a person such as this?

From Kontiki's article:

"If an individual is a permanent resident of Canada and he has been found guilty in the United States of a crime and the equivalent crime in Canada is punishable by a term of imprisonment at most of, say, five years, then his permanent resident status in Canada is not in jeopardy," Drukarsh said.

[Spec]

Originally posted by Gangerolf
well

you forgot about alaska coming in canada's backdoor

Actually that's our shoulder.

Our butt is right up north to the great lakes. The great lakes is us shltting a mud butt on you guys.




Spec.

[Kontiki]

One of the sticking points may be that this isn't a crime in Canada. Different age of consent laws.

However, why the US authorities would find this solution acceptable is beyond me.