Weird but True

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GC_seeker_CA

Registered Users (C)
I am posting this on behalf of someone I know. Any feedback you provide will be seincerely appreciated.

An acquaintance of mine recently was arrested by cops in a sting operation where they lured him on Yahoo chat by posing as 14 year old girl. This indiivdual had to spend 2 days in jail.
The person is currently free on bail and the local public prosecutor has filed charges against this person. The preliminary hearing whether to goto jury trial or not is set for a couple weeks from now.
This persons lawyer has told him that there is a pretty good chance that the case will goto trial. His current employer has informed him that if he gets convicted they will have to let him go.

Under the circumstances will he have trouble other job if convicted ?
Is a misdemeanor charge with plea bargain considered as a conviction ?
Will this affect his GC prospects in the future ?

Thank you for your useful advice.
GC_seeker_CA
 
I am sorry for your friend.
What I assume is
1. After Chat, your friend went to meet the girl and got arrested.
2. He was charged with misdemeanor.

Suggestion: If there is a chance to get acquitted, fight the case now and comeout clean even though it costs time and money. Make sure your criminal lawyer knows about immigration issues.

If you get acquitted, there is no problem with other jobs in future. Also GC gets approved with out any issues.


If you get convicted:
a) Job - Before offering permanent jobs, most of the employers ask you to fill a form which contains about criminal history. Be honest to this. They ask only felony cases. So no need to reveal misdemeanor convictions. But most of the employers conduct background check. Finding out misdemeanor convictions in back ground check depends what type of search they are doing. For example Defence Depts do since the day we came on to the earth.
If they find out, they treat case by case for misdemeanor convictions whether to offer a job or not.

b)Deportation - In case of misdemeanor convictions generally local police won't inform BCIS/INS. So there is no immediate danger with deporatation. But if you go for visa stamping like H1 extension, you may have to reveal this conviction. Findout if your conviction will cause InAdmissability. If so, State dept may reject visa stating that.

c)GC: Generally INS is kindenough to forgive FIRST misdemeanor conviction and approve GC, if jail time is less than 6 months.
In some cases they may treat it as CMT(Crime of Moroal Turpitude), deny GC and start deportation proceedings. Then the case to will go to a Immigration judge.If you have money, time and want to live here you can hire a good lawyer and win the case.

Also there is lot of info on this site about criminal convictions. Some postings are really good and I suggest to read them.

Finally, nothing to worry but make sure not to get in to this type of problems again.


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I am one of you. Neither a criminal nor immigraition lawyer
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Thank you for your detailed reply. It has been helpful. I would like to clarify the following about the 2 assumptions you have made:

What I assume is
1. After Chat, your friend went to meet the girl and got arrested.
2. He was charged with misdemeanor.[

1: yes he was arrested when he curiously went to meet this "14 year old girl" who never existed. It was young looking lady cop posing as a 14 year old.

2: Right now he has been charged with 5th degree felony. But my freind and his lawyers believe that they will be offered a plea bargain and the charge can be brought down to a misdemeanor.

Thanks much for all your help.
GC_seeker_CA
 
Feedback?

I don't want your friend around when my daughter turns 14 in a few years' time. He does not have any sympathy from me and I'd be more than happy if the likes of him goes back to whatever hole he crawled out from.

If it wasn't a sting and he hadn't been caught, what would your friend be doing now?

And you still call him "friend?"
 
while your friend was chatting with that girl, did they chatted about sex or having intimacy? did they decide that when they will meet, they will have a physical relationship?
If he had not indicated or expressed any sexual intention with that girl, then he will be able to get by with a misdemeanor (I think)
I have no criminal law knowledge, but logically it makes sense not to prosecute as felony, if they cannot proove that he had sexual intentions.
There is nothing wrong in meeting anyone on a friendly basis? or is there?
 
Well, it seems like the police targetted this individual because a few days prior to the day he was arrested, he had turn down an offer to meet this same yahoo chat user when she had told him that she is 14 years old. When she sent him a picture and he thought she was just trying to fool him because she looked much older in the picture...he decided to meet her and got into trouble.
 
The point is this: what would inspire a guy older than 20 to go and meet a girl who said she was 14? Doesn't matter if she looked older, nor does it matter what they talked about. She said she was 14. He should have ended it right there.
 
Really depends on what they had been talking in the chat room, post transcript if you can.
 
I will see if this is possible. What i know is that his home and office PC have been confiscated by the police.
 
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