Immigrant charged as juvenile with sex crime

Friday, July 06, 2012

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Juvenile proceedings are under way against a Somali refugee accused of sexually assaulting a 50-year-old woman after a Maine judge dismissed charges brought against him as an adult.

The judge ruled this week that prosecutors failed to prove that Mohammed Mukhtar of Portland was an adult. He’s accused of breaking into an apartment in May and assaulting a woman.

Prosecutors said documents showed Mukhtar was born on Jan. 1, 1994, which would make him 18. But Mukhtar’s attorney successfully argued that he was born on Oct. 25, 1994, making him 17.

The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/MMquAd ) says Mukhtar was transferred from jail to the Long Creek Youth Development Center, but prosecutors say they’ll likely still seek to have Mukhtar tried as an adult because of the seriousness of the crime.

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