US football player deported from Canada
A former Canadian Football League quarterback originally from Texas has been deported from Canada after assault charges have been stayed against him.
Cody Ledbetter, formerly of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Edmonton Eskimos, was charged with assault earlier this year when he violated his probation in the United States. His 10-year probation was for sex-related crimes after two separate counts of having a relationship with a student after he had taken a job as a high school football coach. Ledbetter left the CFL in 2002, and was found in Ottawa after he had fled the United States because he was facing a number of charges there including indecency with a child.
In Canada, Ledbetter is charged with assault causing bodily harm and uttering threats after he allegedly both assaulted and threatened to kill his pregnant girlfriend in Ottawa. By staying these charges, the Government of Canada had cleared the way for Ledbetter to be deported. Otherwise, Ledbetter couldn’t be deported until all of his outstanding charges in Canada were dealt with.
According to the Crown, if anything had arisen that would stop the deportation process then prosecution for the charges for incidents that occurred in Canada will begin immediately. In the United States, Ledbetter is facing between five years for each count and a life sentence in jail, up to 99 years.
This morning, Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) removed Ledbetter from an Ottawa jail and was transferred to United States authorities in upstate New York, where he will continue to Texas and face his charges. However, he can still appeal his extradition in New York if he chooses.
Are you possibly being deported from Canada? Contact Niren and Associates immigration law firm today.
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President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
