NC child molester fraudulently became US citizen by lying about sex offenses, ICE says
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A North Carolina sex offender and naturalized citizen of the U.S. has been indicted for naturalization fraud after lying about previous sex offenses to get citizenship, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Wednesday.
They said the indictment came after Removal Operations officers in the Raleigh office initiated an investigation into 67-year-old Robert Davis, a convicted child molester.
On March 20, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Davis, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Malaysia, with naturalization fraud.
According to the indictment, Davis fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship on May 9, 2017, by making a false statement under oath in his naturalization application.
In response to the question, “Have you ever committed, assisted in committing or attempted to commit, a crime or offense for which you were not arrested?” the indictment said he answered “no.”
It said he also denied having ever forced anyone to have any kind of sexual contact or sexual relations.
Davis was convicted of sex offenses on Feb. 2 in the Superior Court of North Carolina in Guilford County, which took place years before his naturalization application, according to ICE.
In court, he was convicted of indecent liberties with a child and attempted first-degree sexual offense.
Davis was convicted after court records said he confessed to committing the crimes with a five-year-old girl between Jan. 30, 2004 and Dec. 30, 2005.
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“Davis was sentenced to over 16 years of imprisonment, in part because of a prior federal conviction in 2021 for possessing child pornography in the Middle District of North Carolina which resulted in a 14-year prison sentence,” ICE said.
“This case highlights ERO’s commitment to protecting communities we serve, and I am proud of the work we do every day,” said ERO Atlanta Field Office Director Sean Ervin. “It also highlights our resolve. For those who prey upon the vulnerable and lie about their crimes, there is nowhere they can hide. ERO will relentlessly defend the integrity of our nation’s naturalization process.”
ICE said this case was investigated as part of Operation False Haven, an ongoing initiative designed to aggressively identify and prosecute child molesters and other egregious felons who fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship.
The initiative was launched in late 2019 and currently encompasses six judicial districts. It has produced 60 criminal cases, 29 civil cases, 28 convictions, 18 judicial revocations of citizenship and eight judicial removal orders against defendants convicted of serial rape, child molestation, incest, sodomy, child pornography, kidnapping, sex trafficking, murder, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, tax fraud, pill mill prescription fraud, embezzlement, aggravated identity theft, and elder abuse.
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