Man Accused Of Trying To Buy Boy Remains In Canadian Jail
Posted March 31, 2010 2:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A fugitive from Georgia accused of trying to buy a five-year-old boy over the Internet will remain in a Canadian jail.
Patrick Molesti, 56, appeared via videolink in Toronto for a detention hearing conducted by the Immigration and Refugee Board. Molesti, whose real name is Patrick Lamontagne, maintained that he’s innocent of the charges but conceded he’s a flight risk.
An international manhunt for Molesti ended last week when he was arrested by police at a bus station in the northwestern Ontario city of Thunder Bay.
Molesti is being held in a Thunder Bay jail while authorities determine whether he’s legally allowed to be in Canada.
Canada Border Services Agency has said it’s likely he’ll be deported due to the charges he’s facing in the United States.
Molesti has been charged with criminal attempt to commit child molestation, sexual exploitation of children and theft.
The U.S. Marshals Service says a federal investigation is underway as well as ongoing probe by the state on additional state charges.
Police in Georgia said they don’t believe Molesti was in Canada in search of a child for sale.
They say Molesti, a French national, likely fled to Canada because he thought he could get to France more easily through Quebec.
A government lawyer said Molesti is a citizen of France and a resident of the U.S.
Patrick Ange Molesti was an alias, the hearing was told.
