An American man wanted on child-pornography charges in Tennessee fled to Canada earlier this year with his parents and sought refugee protection, claiming that he faces the possibility of persecution back home because of his affiliation with the online hacking group Anonymous.
Matthew Paul DeHart, 29, says the child-porn charges are a sham, and that the real reason the U.S. government is after him is to retrieve sensitive national security documents he was privy to.
The bizarre details are contained in a just-released Federal Court of Canada ruling upholding an immigration decision to release him from custody while he awaits a decision on his admissibility to the country.
DeHart, who is from Newburgh, Ind., was indicted by a grand jury in Tennessee in October 2010 on charges of production and transportation of child pornography.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Nashville, DeHart met two teenage boys in Franklin, Tenn., through an online game, World of Warcraft.
The complaint, written by an Internet-crimes investigator with the Franklin Police Department, alleges that DeHart posed as a teenage girl to get the boys to send pornographic images of themselves.
The charges have not been proven in court.
In May 2012, DeHart was allowed to be released from custody in Tennessee while awaiting trial. He subsequently fled to Canada with his parents in April of this year and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
According to Canadian federal court documents, DeHart claims to be a member of the online hacking collective known as Anonymous and had access to what he believed to be a leaked U.S. government document related to national security.
He claims that the child pornography investigation is a “cover” for the U.S. government’s attempts to retrieve this document and investigate him for espionage, according to the court documents.
It is unclear what the document contains.
DeHart is seeking refugee protection in Canada on the basis he fears persecution if returned to the U.S. He alleges that while in custody in the U.S., he was “drugged, subjected to psychological torture and questioned by FBI agents” in relation to national security. His parents have also filed for refugee protection.
DeHart had been in the custody of Canadian authorities since April on the grounds that he posed a danger to the public and was a flight risk.
But on Aug. 7, an Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator granted DeHart’s release after his parents posted a $10,000 bond and DeHart agreed to be under house arrest around the clock, while being monitored with a GPS device. He also agreed not to access the Internet.
Last week, a federal judge upheld the immigration adjudicator’s decision to release DeHart in response to a request from the federal public safety minister for a judicial review.
DeHart’s Toronto-based immigration lawyer Lily Tekle said Wednesday that her client wished to say that most of the evidence collected by investigators in the U.S. is under seal and that what has been publicly released does not give the full picture.
more
American seeks refuge in Canada claiming persecution because of hacker connections
Matthew Paul DeHart, 29, says the child-porn charges are a sham, and that the real reason the U.S. government is after him is to retrieve sensitive national security documents he was privy to.
The bizarre details are contained in a just-released Federal Court of Canada ruling upholding an immigration decision to release him from custody while he awaits a decision on his admissibility to the country.
DeHart, who is from Newburgh, Ind., was indicted by a grand jury in Tennessee in October 2010 on charges of production and transportation of child pornography.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Nashville, DeHart met two teenage boys in Franklin, Tenn., through an online game, World of Warcraft.
The complaint, written by an Internet-crimes investigator with the Franklin Police Department, alleges that DeHart posed as a teenage girl to get the boys to send pornographic images of themselves.
The charges have not been proven in court.
In May 2012, DeHart was allowed to be released from custody in Tennessee while awaiting trial. He subsequently fled to Canada with his parents in April of this year and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
According to Canadian federal court documents, DeHart claims to be a member of the online hacking collective known as Anonymous and had access to what he believed to be a leaked U.S. government document related to national security.
He claims that the child pornography investigation is a “cover” for the U.S. government’s attempts to retrieve this document and investigate him for espionage, according to the court documents.
It is unclear what the document contains.
DeHart is seeking refugee protection in Canada on the basis he fears persecution if returned to the U.S. He alleges that while in custody in the U.S., he was “drugged, subjected to psychological torture and questioned by FBI agents” in relation to national security. His parents have also filed for refugee protection.
DeHart had been in the custody of Canadian authorities since April on the grounds that he posed a danger to the public and was a flight risk.
But on Aug. 7, an Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator granted DeHart’s release after his parents posted a $10,000 bond and DeHart agreed to be under house arrest around the clock, while being monitored with a GPS device. He also agreed not to access the Internet.
Last week, a federal judge upheld the immigration adjudicator’s decision to release DeHart in response to a request from the federal public safety minister for a judicial review.
DeHart’s Toronto-based immigration lawyer Lily Tekle said Wednesday that her client wished to say that most of the evidence collected by investigators in the U.S. is under seal and that what has been publicly released does not give the full picture.
more
American seeks refuge in Canada claiming persecution because of hacker connections
