Deported Following a 1989 Sexual Assault
BOSTON - A Western Massachusetts man was charged in federal court with illegally re-entering the United States following a previous deportation.
Richard Shephard, 56, of Cummington, Mass., was charged with illegally re-entering the country after being deported as an alien.
According to court papers filed today in support of Shephard’s pre-trial detention, in 1989, Shepard was convicted in New Jersey of the sexual assault of a woman. Based on that conviction, he was deported to the United Kingdom in 1990. Today’s indictment alleges that on January 18, 2012, Shephard was found in the United States without permission to re-enter the country. According to the court papers, Shepard was found by the Department of Homeland Security after he was charged in Northampton District Court with indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. On July 16, 2012, Shepard pleaded guilty to assault and battery of the minor, who was 7 years old.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth P. Neiman ordered Shepard detained pending his trial. If convicted on these charges, Shephard faces up to 20 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Homeland Security Investigations in Boston received assistance from the Massachusetts State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
