Los Angeles, California - A Canadian man accused in his native country of raping a disabled girl four decades ago was turned over to Canadian authorities in Vancouver, British Columbia, late Tuesday culminating a nearly two-year legal effort by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to gain his deportation.
Raymond Douglas Charles Macleod, 72, was repatriated under escort by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers on a commercial flight that departed from Los Angeles International Airport. Macleod is facing trial in Canada for the 1974 rape of a 5-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. A news release issued by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Wednesday advises Canadian authorities issued a nationwide warrant for Macleod’s arrest in 1980, but he was never located.
Macleod’s deportation Tuesday comes following 17 months of litigation by ICE to secure a final order of removal. Macleod was arrested in October 2013 by ERO officers and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies at a San Dimas trailer park where he had been living under an assumed name. ICE placed Macleod in removal proceedings and an immigration judge ordered him deported in March 2014. Macleod subsequently appealed the judge’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ultimately, both panels concurred with the original ruling, paving the way for this week’s removal.
“For the victim in this case, justice has been a long time coming, but she can take consolation in the fact that her alleged assailant is now being held accountable,” said David Jennings, field office director for ERO Los Angeles. “I applaud my officers and the ICE attorneys whose perseverance made this happen. We will not allow our country to serve as a safe haven for those who commit reprehensible crimes.”
Since October 2009, ERO has removed more than 900 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Office of International Operations, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.
