U.S. lawyer says Dawn Walker likely has 'years of legal issues ahead'
It is going to be a tough legal road ahead for a Saskatchewan woman who is accused of illegally crossing the US border with her child.
Dawn Walker and her child were reported missing on July 24. They were found on Aug. 5 in Oregon City, Oregon.
She now faces charges in the U.S. of aggravated identity theft and possession of false documents.
“These are the equivalent of what's called an indictable offence in Canada,” U.S. immigration lawyer Len Saunders told CTV News.
“So these are not just simple misdemeanour summary charges. These are serious felony offences.”
Saunders said Walker is facing trouble on many grounds.
“She has federal criminal charges. Then after the criminal charges are dealt with by the US government, she'll then have immigration charges for false entry into the United States. And then when she does eventually leave the US, I'm assuming the government is going to want to extradite her to Canada. She’s going to face, I believe, criminal charges in Canada for obtaining false Canadian passports. So I think she has, you know, years of legal issues ahead of her now.”
Saunders said Walker is likely looking at months in custody in the US before she’ll be returned to Canada.
“This is going to be a long road.”
For the aggravated identity theft charges in the US, Walker could face two years of jail time but Saunders said her defence could plead time served to reduce the sentence.
He also said she will have trouble if she ever hopes to return to the U.S.
“I think what's going to happen long term is she's going to have years of not being able to re-enter the United States. Canadians who have criminal convictions, whether in Canada or the United States, quite often need waivers to enter the US in the future," he said.
"So once these charges are finally dealt with, assuming that she's found guilty or pleads guilty, she's then going to basically go up to Canada and have to spend years in Canada before she's deemed rehabilitated to come back into the United States.
"You know, some people try to sneak in but her criminal activities from what I can read in the criminal charges, it seems like a very sophisticated plan,” Saunders said.
“A lot of planning went into what she is charged with committing."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.