Woman to be deported in illegal entry case

BANGOR – An Englishwoman who swam across the St. John River at Fort Kent to enter the United States will be deported after her sentencing Thursday in federal court.

Katharine Mary Hiscox, 33, formerly of Surry, England, wept as she addressed U.S. District Judge John Woodcock, sitting in U.S. District Court, just before her sentence was handed down.

“I’m so terribly sorry,” the shorthaired blonde said, choked with emotion.

Hiscox, also known as Kate Pagram, pleaded guilty in August to re-entering the country after she was refused entry earlier this year in Atlanta because of visa problems.

Woodcock sentenced Hiscox to time served, or four months and 10 days in jail, and a $1,000 fine. He also ordered one year of supervised release, though Hiscox will be deported before that requirement can be fulfilled.

Woodcock admonished Hiscox for not being honest about why she came to the United States and failing to promptly disclose her criminal background.

“You compounded your crime by resolutely being less than candid and forthright,” he said. “By doing so you, in effect, sentenced yourself to much more time than you would have served otherwise.”

Hiscox claimed she needed to get into the United States to serve a subpoena in North Carolina, but her real intention was to meet up with her female partner, who was ill, Woodcock said.

A court official in North Carolina confirmed that Hiscox was told previously that the case could progress without her, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Dennis Harmon testified Thursday.

After her arrest, border agents spent more than 100 hours investigating Hiscox’s history, which includes a 1996 conviction in England for seven counts of tax evasion. During all those hours, Hiscox sat in jail while her case could have been progressing, Woodcock pointed out.

By pleading guilty in August, Hiscox admitted she swam across the St. John River late on Aug. 6.

Soaking wet, she knocked on the door of a Fort Kent residence between 11 and 11:25 p.m., according to court documents.

The homeowner called the Fort Kent police the next morning and told them he had driven the woman to the Blue Sky Hotel in Madawaska. When U.S. Border Patrol agents arrived at the hotel, they learned the woman had checked out 30 to 45 minutes earlier. Agents alerted the Houlton and Fort Fairfield stations that they were looking for the woman.

Agent Dennis Harmon was traveling north on U.S. Route 1 in Littleton about noon Sunday when he saw a Madawaska-based taxi with a woman passenger heading south. He followed the cab until it pulled into a Houlton gas station and convenience store, according to court documents.

Hiscox had been traveling with an American woman, according to court documents. The week before Hiscox swam the river, the two stayed together at a hotel in Edmundston, New Brunswick. Hiscox claimed the woman was unaware of her plans to enter the U.S. illegally, but allegedly told agents the two had planned to meet Aug. 6 in Fort Kent.

Apparently, the two missed each other. No charges have been filed against Hiscox’s friend.

Having served a sentence Woodcock described as “lenient,” Hiscox soon will be on her way out of the United States.

“My advice to you, Ms. Hiscox, is not to return to this country unless you’re invited to do so,” Woodcock said.