A former Prince George man is a step closer to being deported back to Canada where he is accused of raping a disabled child in this city four decades ago.
On Dec. 11, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a petition from Raymond Douglas Charles MacLeod, 72, to review an immigration judge's decision to dismiss an appeal for deportation. Consequently, a stay of removal has been lifted.
MacLeod was arrested in the United States slightly more a year ago after a deputy in the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department identified him as a fugitive.
According to reports from Los Angeles media at the time of his apprehension, the RCMP arrested MacLeod in 1974 and he was charged with raping a five-year-old with cerebral palsy. While on bail during the trial, he twice tried to flee to the U.S. but was stopped.
MacLeod was eventually tried and acquitted but in 1980 a new trial was ordered after an appeals court concluded the trial judge made an error. But by that time, MacLeod had fled and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
RCMP are refusing to comment until MacLeod is back in Canada.
