Woman gets 14 months for hiring illegal aliens

BANGOR – Citing the years of emotional and physical abuse Doris Amanda Ayala Escalante suffered at the hands of her husband, a federal judge Tuesday sentenced the Harrington woman to about half of the minimum penalty recommended under federal guidelines.

Escalante, who admitted to hiring illegal aliens and possessing a fake visa, was sentenced to 14 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $200 special assessment.

“Twenty-seven months is the minimum,” Escalante’s attorney, Jon Haddow, said referring after court adjourned to the almost unheard of downward departure from the federal guidelines. “He [the judge] cut it in half – that’s significant.

“In the last 10 years, I’m only aware of one other [sentence reduction for] distress,” he said. “It’s rare.”

With nine months of time served and time off for good behavior, Escalante is expected to serve approximately three more months in federal prison. She then will be handed over to immigration officials in South Portland who will decide if she will be deported.

“Your story is a sad and complicated one,” U.S. District Judge John Woodcock said during Tuesday’s sentencing. “It begins with a desire for a new and better life.”

Woodcock went on to recall how Escalante, 38, came to the United States while in her 20s and how she has lived the “American dream” illegally for the last 15 years, “living in shadows – fearing the light of the law.”

He said years of abuse by her husband, Juan Centeno Perez, 45, of Harrington, mixed with abuse from other men in her life, led Escalante to do her husband’s bidding to avoid conflict.

“His bad temper and violence is documented,” Woodcock said. “As a consequence of her long history, she became afraid of him … [and] she was coerced to doing activities she would not” have otherwise considered.

Perez, whom federal officials suspect has fled the state and maybe the country, was indicted in September by a federal grand jury for conspiring to hire illegal aliens. He has not been arrested.

Escalante pleaded guilty in October in U.S. District Court to visa fraud and conspiring with her husband to hire illegal aliens. She admitted that between January 2005 and June 2006 she hired at least 10 illegal aliens to work at a Washington County sea cucumber processing plant in Lubec and the restaurant she operated with relatives in Hancock.

Prosecutor Nancy Torresen said Escalante has been very cooperative with federal officials and recommended a sentence of 20 months. Her attorney asked for time served and probation.

At the sometimes tearful sentencing, Escalante’s two daughters, who are U.S. citizens, ages 13 and 15, her mother, two brothers and three Harrington residents stood to support her.

“She has always been there for us, and she has never left our side,” one daughter said choking back tears.

Escalante also addressed the court using an interpreter. She apologized and asked for forgiveness from her family, especially her daughters, the court, the community of Harrington and all others who supported her.

“My heart is broken,” she said through the interpreter. “I want to say, with my head held high, that this will never happen again.”

Before making the sentence final, Woodcock spoke directly to Escalante and said he wasn’t going to completely drop her sentence “because of what her husband did.”

“Her activity is not passive, but active,” he said. “When the van broke down, it was not her husband’s voice that told them to run and hide, it was her voice.”

Woodcock was referring to an incident in January 2006 when a 2002 Chevrolet cargo truck carrying 18 of the illegal workers broke down by the side of the road and resulted in attracting the attention of investigators.

At least one worker called Perez’s cell phone, according to court documents.

The judge also added that Escalante never sought help for the domestic violence she suffered, and he said he thought she understood she knowingly committed the crimes.

Woodcock said his sentence will take Escalante from her family for a period of time, but added the real penalty is being deported to her home country of Honduras.

“I don’t know what is going to happen, but I do suspect you will end up being deported,” he told her. “If that is the case, it’s a tragedy. It’s a tragedy for you. It’s a tragedy for your family and it’s a tragedy for what you worked for here.”