November 29, 2007

Wife of former ICE "most wanted" fugitive sentenced for making false statements to federal agents

SAN FRANCISCO - The wife of a man who was formerly on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) "most wanted" list will be required to serve six months of home confinement and perform 240 hours of community service as part of her sentence for lying to federal officers about her contacts with her husband while he was at large.

Maleka May, 34, the wife of suspected child predator and former international fugitive Kenneth Freeman, was sentenced in federal court here today by U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker on two felony counts of making false statements to federal officers. The charges stem from an investigation by ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service.

May pleaded guilty in October to one count of making a false statement to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers in San Francisco and one count of making a false statement to a Deputy of the United States Marshals Service in Washington state. According to the plea agreement, May admitted lying to federal agents about her contacts with her husband while he was a fugitive and wanted on multiple counts of child rape and child pornography charges. Freeman is in custody awaiting trial in Washington. Prior to his capture in Hong Kong earlier this year, Freeman was one of ICE's top ten fugitives and also appeared on the U.S. Marshals' list of top fifteen fugitives.

May admitted lying to federal investigators when she told them she did not know Freeman's whereabouts when she knew he had fled to China in March 2006, the day he was scheduled to appear on rape charges in Benton County, Wash. May admitted she accompanied Freeman to the airport in Vancouver, British Columbia, that day for his flight to China. In addition, May admitted lying to federal officers at San Francisco International Airport in April of this year when she said she had not had any contact with Freeman for two years. In fact, May had been in communication with her husband and was traveling to China to meet him.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Washington.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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