Feds Detain Man After Judge Releases Him

ROCKVILLE, Md. - A Rockville man previously accused of sexually assaulting two little girls, one just 18-months-old, would have left court a free man Monday if federal officials didn't step in.

Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy says 23-year-old Mahamu Kanneh was being held on a federal detainer by officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) despite the fact that a Montgomery County judge ordered Kanneh released on his own recognizance after a bond hearing Monday.

During the hearing, Deputy State's Attorney Laura Chase argued that Kanneh still presents a danger to the community. Prosecutors are asking that the charges against Kanneh, nine counts of child sexual abuse, be reinstated.

Chase and McCarthy wanted Kanneh held in custody until their appeal is heard by a state court in Annapolis. But Circuit Court Judge Anne Harrington ruled against them on that count, saying even if the state expedites the case, it could be years before Kanneh's case goes to trial.

Kanneh's public defender, Theresa Chernosky, told the judge that Kanneh should be released for a number of reasons. She denied he was any threat to the community.

During the three years his initial case was pending, Chernosky said Kanneh had not been charged with any other offense. She told the judge Kanneh did everything asked of him and more: appearing more than 137 times, complying with every request by pretrial services, even showing up when no court date was held. And she pointed out at one time, prosecutors offered him a plea deal with no jail time. If he was so dangerous, Chernosky argued, how could prosecutors make such an offer?

But asked about Kanneh's reported 'flight' to Philadelphia on Aug. 3, Chernosky explained she told him it might be a good idea to leave town, after media reports of the dismissal created a public outcry.

Chernosky, Chase, and even Judge Harrington commented on the nature of the hate mail they received as the public reacted to what was seen as a case of a suspected child molester walking free, all because a translator had not been assigned to him in a timely manner. (Chernosky had argued successfully that his right to a speedy trial had been violated by the delays.)

Chernosky also pointed out that Kanneh had never been notified that he was expected in court Aug. 3, so that there was no failure to appear. When 12 U.S. Marshals and two police officers arrived at a relatives home in Philadelphia where Kanneh was staying, Chernosky says Kanneh, a Liberian national who had been in a refugee camp in Ghana, was understandably frightened.

Outside the courtroom, McCarthy took no questions, but made a statement, saying the state got what it wanted in setting conditions on Kanneh's release, including forcing him to surrender travel documents. During the hearing, Kanneh told his interpreter he did not have a passport, just the travel documents officials had issued to him in the refugee camp in Ghana.

It was during McCarthy's statement he announced that Kanneh was subject to a detainer and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials would be holding him.

Oral arguments are scheduled for February of next year.

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