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Teen In Incest Case to Be Deported

R S Shankar in Sterling Heights, Michigan

The teenager, who is serving a six-month sentence for impregnating his 12-year-old sister, decided not to appeal the deportation order, and will be sent to India in a few months, immigration officials here said.

The boy was told on July 9 that he had 30 days to appeal the Immigration and Naturalization Department's decision but refused the offer.

The teen who was sentenced in February to three years' probation, six months in prison and six months on a tether for fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, was allowed to complete his senior year of high school before he began serving the sentence.

"He is truly sorry and traumatized by what happened to his sister, his family and to himself," said a family member speaking on the condition of anonymity. "He knows he would be reviled in India but he has been subjected to a lot of harassment by other kids of his age here, and in the community he is considered a disgrace, though his parents and his sister have forgiven him."

The parents, who were struggling to make their ends meet, had allowed the two to sleep on a double bed.

The case drew the national attention in America when Michigan state would not allow the girl to have an abortion because she was 29 weeks pregnant when the doctors realized the fact. Michigan law allows abortions after 24 weeks only if the woman's life is endangered.

Her nationality was revealed when a pro-life group sought the help of Indian students who could talk to her parents - who know little English and ran a small convenience store here - in an Indian language into saving the baby.

The highly debated, emotional case received further publicity when a pro-choice group helped the family have the abortion in Kansas, the neighboring state.

There were suggestions last year in the media that the parents be charged with negligence but public prosecutor Karl Malinga, a grandson of Polish immigrants, rejected the idea. He said millions of indigent immigrant parents must have let several children share the bed.

"If I were to punish these parents," he said, "I will have to punish millions of parents from all over the world who struggled through their early years in America and could not afford separate beds for their children."

He also did not want to ask for a stiff punishment for the teenager.

"He is truly sorry for what he has done," Malinga said, saying it was a one-time act. "The sister, who loves her brother dearly, does not want to see him punished. With good counseling, this young man could have a very productive life."

The family has said that it would also go back to India if the son were deported. The names of the family and the children are not released to protect the girl but Lauren Tomayko, an attorney who represented the girl, said the news spread, and the boy was subjected to humiliation. The parents were blamed and their apartment was vandalized.

"Unfortunately even though their names were kept out, people figured out who it was," she said. "Their car was spray-painted."

For several months after the revelation of the pregnancy and before he was sentenced, the teenager lived with his relatives.

"He had no peace of mind anywhere, even though he struggled hard and passed his high school exams," the family member said.

EARLIER REPORT:
Incest accused may face deportation despite judge's efforts

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