SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Euphrem Kios Dohou, age 50, a native and citizen of Benin, West Africa, was convicted on Nov. 29, 2018, after a two-day bench trial before United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, of hindering his removal from the United States.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the evidence showed that Dohou entered the United States in 1992 on a B-2 Visitor Visa that permitted him to visit in the United States for a period of six months but Dohou failed to return to his home country of Benin as required by law. In August 2006, Dohou was charged and convicted in the Eastern District of New York of a federal drug trafficking crime for which he was sentenced to a term of ten years’ imprisonment. He was subsequently encountered by Immigration Officials while serving his sentence at a Bureau of Prisons facility in Minnesota. On Sept. 22, 2015, an Immigration Judge sitting in York, Pennsylvania issued a final order of removal against Dohou.
On Sept. 29, 2015, Sept. 30, 2015, October 9, 2015, Oct. 16, 2015, Oct. 29, 2015, and November 5, 2015, Dohou refused to complete the required travel document application to facilitate his deportation to Benin. Immigration Officials were subsequently able to secure the necessary travel document in Dohou’s name via the Republic of Benin Embassy. Flight arrangements for deportation from the United States were scheduled for Dohou but on Jan. 15, 2016 and again on February 9, 2015, Dohou physically and verbally resisted efforts of Immigration Officials to transport him from the York County Prison to the Washington Dulles International Airport. Dohou was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in March of 2016.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski prosecuted the case.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. In this case, Dohou faces up to ten years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Dohou remains in custody with a tentative sentencing date of February 4, 2019.
Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
