PORTLAND, Maine — Juvenile proceedings are under way against a Somali refugee accused of sexually assaulting a 50-year-old woman after a Maine judge dismissed charges brought against him as an adult.
The judge ruled this week that prosecutors failed to prove that Mohammed Mukhtar of Portland was an adult. He’s accused of breaking into an apartment in May and assaulting a woman.
Prosecutors said documents showed Mukhtar was born on Jan. 1, 1994, which would make him 18. But Mukhtar’s attorney successfully argued that he was born on Oct. 25, 1994, making him 17.
The Portland Press Herald says Mukhtar was transferred from jail to the Long Creek Youth Development Center, but prosecutors say they’ll likely still seek to have Mukhtar tried as an adult because of the seriousness of the crime.
OK give him the stiffest sentence possible and deport him. Hope this doesn’t get me banned from comments.
I think this kind of reporting contributes to the anti-immigrant sentiment in this country. Is he a citizen or not? We should have tough standards on this regardless, but you can have an immigrant who is a citizen and then in that case I think his national origin is irrelevant. If he’s not a citizen, then I think we should be especially tough.
He is not a citizen. He, his mother, and about 7 other children were allowed to come here as refugees. This is not his first arrest.
http://www.pressherald.com/news/Sex-assault-suspect-appears-in-juvenile-court.html
The police arrested him a month prior on a no-license violation, and fingerprinted him.
The police subsequently matched the condom wrapper fingerprint from the rape scene to the no-license arrest record, and that’s how they determined he was a suspect in the rape charge.
His lawyer is trying to have that evidence thrown out, because if he was 17, he wasn’t supposed to be taken to the station and fingerprinted during the traffic offense.
Can we get a new definition for the word “weasel”?
Lawyer.
Having read the response to your comment, I think the reporter knew all about this person’s background and forgot to tell us. If he’s a citizen, then adding his country of origin serves no useful purpose.
Prosecutors said documents showed Mukhtar was born on Jan. 1, 1994,
which would make him 18. But Mukhtar’s attorney successfully argued that
he was born on Oct. 25, 1994, making him 17.
And yet he told police in interviews he was 18.
Total BS. >:(
I would trust an official document over the word of a liar… oops, I meant lawyer. No, I guess I really meant liar.
17 or 18…he is old enough to know right from wrong..He is a Somali refugee…..so, he is an immigrant. ship his sorry butt back from where he came from!
I got an idea, deport him and his family! There the crimes from that young man will stop in this country and the welfare system just lightened its load. Win. Win.
they’re welcomed here by a certain group and a benevolent government, and then they act like this.
they really appreciate their new home.
not
“They”? This article is about a ‘him’.
Jail Him, then DEPORT Him.
Why is he getting special treatment because he is a Somalian? If a Maine bred individual had done the same thing, he would be tried as an adult. Most would say in the small ammount of time between the discrepency, he should be tried as an adult anyway due to the nature of the offense. Just another sign of judges in this state not having a clue how to give proper sentences to criminals…totally disgusting.
Baloney, let the system work.
That’s the problem, the system DOESNT WORK, and has been broken for years. How about the actually FIX the dang system.
He is an adult now. Give him a ticket back to his native country. I will chip in.
Give him his day in court – when/if he is found guilty – deport him.
Do not spend one more dime on him by making the taxpayers pay to keep him in jail.