A Missouri man pleaded guilty on Monday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to failing to present at a border crossing point.
Clayton Dehaven, 39, was seen walking on a road with a flashlight on the Canadian side of the border near the Union Corners area of Hodgdon, according to the U.S. Department of Justice in an announcement citing court records.
The witness saw a woman, later determined to be Sarah Kathleen Peterson, Dehaven’s wife, crouching in the bushes, then running across the border to a minivan. Dehaven then was seen running across the border and getting into the driver’s side of the minivan.
Dehaven was later apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol, and admitted to illegally crossing from Canada to the U.S., according to the DOJ.
According to court documents, Dehaven was trying to bring Peterson, who is not a U.S. citizen, across the border. A representative of the DOJ said Peterson was sent back to Canada.
Dehaven faces up to one year in prison followed by up to a year of supervised release and a fine of up to $100,000. He will be sentenced after the completion of an investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office, according to the DOJ.
