Woman to receive 30 years in prison for having sex with her son's 16-year-old friend

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/974495--u-s-sex-offender-claiming-refugee-status-in-saskatchewan



For the past year, residents of Pike Lake, Sask., have come to know Denise Harvey as just another neighbour, an ordinary woman in a tightly knit community.

But for residents of Vero Beach, Fla., Harvey is a fugitive, a sex offender and — to many — a victim of an unjust justice system.

Harvey, an American, fled to Canada with her husband last year after being sentenced to 30 years in prison for having sex with her son’s 16-year-old friend. But the system caught up with her last week, when she was arrested by RCMP in Pike Lake. She made an appearance before an Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator Monday and was released on a $5,000 bond.

She is claiming refugee status to avoid being forced back to Florida, arguing the 30-year-sentence she received was too severe.

Many others who have been following her case agree.

“She didn’t get any justice down here,” said Vero Beach flight trainer George Sigler, one of Harvey’s supporters.

In a town of 18.000 residents, Sigler gathered 2,000 signatures for a petition demanding the Florida governor give Harvey a pardon. Sigler says many people believe Harvey doesn’t deserve a jail sentence that should be reserved for killers.

“She’s a nice, soft-spoken woman who I believe made a mistake but that doesn’t mean she should go to jail for 30 years,” said Sigler. “No one in their right mind believes a 16-year-old wasn’t a willing participant.”

Chris Veeman, a Saskatoon immigration lawyer now representing Harvey, said a 30-year jail sentence was too high and provides some merit for her claim that returning to the United States would be cruel and unusual.

She never testified at her trial in Florida and denied any wrongdoing. The age of consent in Florida is 18. In Canada, the age of consent is 16 years old although it is 18 if the two people are in a situation defined as a power dynamic such as teacher and student.

Veeman said Harvey and her husband entered the country through the border and one of the conditions of her release is that she has to continue living with her husband. The couple has returned to Pike Lake, about 20 minutes southwest of Saskatoon.

One resident of Vero Beach who wants Harvey returned to Florida is Ron Barnett of Barnett Bail Bonds, which posted a $150,000 bail for the convicted woman.

When Harvey failed to showed up to begin serving her prison sentence in late February, a warrant was issued for her arrest.

“The Canadian authorities are protecting her and I can’t see their logic in letting her go,” said Barnett. “She skipped out on $150,000 bond and now she’s out on a $5,000 bond.”

In Pike Lake, one of the Harveys’ neighbours, Donna Nagus, said the community wants to give the couple their privacy.

“I really want to protect their privacy so we’re not talking about them at all,” said Nagus. “We don’t need a bunch of people gawking at their lawn.”

CeCe wrote:The sentence is ridiculous.