I would say the extradition rules only apply if you're a child molester, Uyghur or computer hacker.

Any other crim gets to pay a "fine" to stay.

So us he Canadian or American?

Sir_Quality_U_Feel wrote:So us he Canadian or American?

Vancouver, Washington, USA.

A good criminal attorney would be able to rip the US government a new one on the extradition part. The other parts, well he screwed up bad. I wonder how much this arrest cost the US tax payers in under-the-table-payment made out of our embassy in PP?

A Vancouver man argues he is being falsely accused of child rape, stemming from a heated "mooning" incident involving his then-girlfriend, the alleged victim and her friend. His defense attorney said the girl made up the story to protect her friend and that it "snowballed" out of control.

The prosecution says that he is a predator who took advantage of a teenager.

A jury is expected to decide his fate today.

Ian Andrew Heller, 25, is on trial in Clark County Superior Court for allegedly raping the girl when she was 13 and 14 years old. He faces two counts of second-degree child rape, two counts of third-degree child rape and bail jumping. Heller allegedly fled to Cambodia last year to avoid prosecution.

The jury began deliberations Wednesday afternoon, but was sent home for the evening and asked to return today.

During closing arguments, Heller's defense attorney, Bob Vukanovich, told the jury that the alleged victim fabricated the rape story as a way to protect a male friend. Heller apparently was upset with the friend after he "mooned" Heller's then-girlfriend while she was sleeping. Heller said he reported the incident to police.

Deputy Prosecutor Patrick Robinson argued the defense was playing up the mooning incident to mislead the jury and discredit the alleged victim.

The victim testified that Heller raped her 20 to 30 times between the summer of 2011 and April 2012. She waited several months later to report it because she was afraid she'd get into trouble, Robinson said.

Robinson said Heller seized onto an opportunity to manipulate and pressure the girl, whom he knew, into having sex with him.

"He knew exactly what he was doing. She was powerless to stop it," he said.

"Why is a 22-year-old spending all this time with a 13-year-old? It doesn't make any sense," he added.

The fact that Heller fled to Cambodia is also a sign of his "conscious guilt," Robinson argued.

Heller was apprehended last year by local police in the Preah Sihanouk province for having an "illegal expired passport," according to The Cambodia Daily.

Clark County sheriff's deputies picked him up Sept. 30 when he arrived in Los Angeles.

Robinson told jurors the case boils down to whether they believe the alleged victim.

"The details that she provided are proof that this happened," he said.

The defense said this case is an example of a "he-said, she-said argument" that revolves around credibility, especially the alleged victim's.

Vukanovich said there were many inconsistencies in the girl's testimony and in her statements during interviews. He said she changed her story about how and when she met Heller and about the first time he allegedly raped her. The girl's time line of events also didn't match up with other witnesses' testimony, Vukanovich said.

Robinson said although he acknowledges there were some inconsistencies, he argued they don't take away from the girl's credibility. In fact, he said "the minor differences" make her more credible because she's clearly not repeating a rehearsed story.

Robinson said the alleged victim also knew intimate details about Heller, including his body odor, a detail she couldn't have made up.

"What's the pot at the end of the rainbow for her? She went through all of this because it happened. She's telling the truth," he said.

http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/may/ ... ape-trial/

Hung jury!

Child rape trial ends in hung jury

Retrial scheduled July 6; defense said claims were made up

After deliberating for about six hours over a two-day span, jurors hit a stalemate Thursday afternoon in the case of a Vancouver man accused of raping a teenaged girl and fleeing to Cambodia last year to avoid prosecution.

Jurors heard three days of testimony, which included the alleged victim and defendant, but apparently were not swayed beyond a reasonable doubt by the evidence.

Ian Andrew Heller, 25, was on trial in Clark County Superior Court for allegedly raping the girl, whom he knew, when she was 13 and 14 years old. He faced two counts of second-degree child rape, two counts of third-degree child rape and bail jumping.

The jury returned to the courtroom shortly after 1 p.m. to ask what to do if they couldn't reach an unanimous decision. They had asked a similar question earlier that morning. Judge Gregory Gonzales decided to call a mistrial.

A retrial is scheduled for July 6. Efforts to reach Deputy Prosecutor Patrick Robinson were unsuccessful Thursday.

Heller's defense attorney, Bob Vukanovich, said he was hoping for a not-guilty verdict but said he would take the hung jury.

"I felt very strongly that we had some good evidence that this young lady's credibility was brought into question," he said. "This was the kind of case that we don't have any hard evidence. It's a 'he-said, she-said' so it's really based on credibility."

During Wednesday's closing arguments, Vukanovich said his client was being falsely accused of child rape. He argued the girl fabricated the rape story, following a "mooning" incident involving Heller, his then-girlfriend, the alleged victim and her male friend. Heller apparently was upset with the male friend after he "mooned" his then-girlfriend while she was sleeping. Heller said he reported the incident to police.

The alleged victim had testified that Heller raped her 20 to 30 times between the summer of 2011 and April 2012. She said she waited to report it because she was afraid of getting into trouble.

Vukanovich said there were many inconsistencies in the girl's testimony and in her statements during interviews. Her time line of events also didn't match up with other witnesses' testimony, he said.

Robinson acknowledged some inconsistencies but said they don't take away from the alleged victim's credibility. He argued they are proof that she wasn't using a rehearsed story.

He also argued that Heller fleeing to Cambodia is a sign of his "conscious guilt."

Heller was apprehended last year by local police in the Preah Sihanouk province for having an "illegal expired passport," according to The Cambodia Daily.

Clark County sheriff's deputies picked him up Sept. 30 when he arrived in Los Angeles.

http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/may/ ... hung-jury/