Deportation may not stop sex offender

A wanted U.S. sex offender with a 30-year history of violent and sexual crimes is facing deportation this week -- his fourth order in five years.

But British Columbians who have followed the case for years fear Denver Todd Carnes could end up in Canada again.

And Canadian immigration and U.S. justice officials admit it's possible Carnes could go free, despite warrants in two states for a sexual assault against a child and parole violations.

Carnes, 48, was arrested in May in Boston Bar, where he lived with his Canadian wife, Susan Cosulich, after RCMP received a tip from an old school friend of Cosulich's on Vancouver Island.

Carnes was charged with being illegally in Canada and has been in custody at the North Fraser Pretrial Centre, awaiting his trial tomorrow.

It's likely he'll face deportation after the trial since the maximum sentence for the summary-conviction charge is six months, and he's already been in custody for seven.

But relatives and friends of Carnes' wife are concerned he has returned to Canada three times in the past, despite deportation orders and U.S. warrants for his arrest, and could do so again.

He's wanted for the attempted sexual abuse of a person under 14 in Salem, Ore., in 2001, and parole violations in California.

"All they do is cut him loose at the border," said Larry Cosulich, Susan's brother, adding that Carnes is a con man who is spending his sister's money.

"This guy could get out of the one country and if [his warrant] is not in the computer, he's not wanted anywhere," Cosulich said. "Something needs to be tightened in the system."

After Carnes's deportation in July 2002 to Washington, Susan Cosulich put up the $30,000 bail while he awaited an extradition hearing to Oregon to face the sex charge, which he skipped out on.

Carnes somehow crossed the border into Canada, possibly with Cosulich, and four months later, he was arrested in a bar in Grande Prairie, Alta., and ordered deported again.

Carnes also managed to get released on parole after serving a two-year sentence for failing to register as a sex offender in California, despite the warrant for the sex charge in Oregon.

Again, he ended up in Canada.

If Carnes is deported tomorrow, he will be driven to the border by Canadian Border Services Agency guards and handed over to U.S. authorities in Washington, where there are no warrants against him.

If the states holding warrants want to extradite him, he can't be denied bail until the hearing, according to Whatcom County prosecuting attorney Dave McEachran.

But bail can be set as high as $250,000 if a suspect poses a flight risk, McEachran said.

An extradition is a governor-to-governor matter, he said, so California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would have to contact Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire.

"If a request isn't made, we would release him," McEachran said.

It's up to prosecutors whether or not they would extradite and they may assess their ability to win a case before having a prisoner transferred to their state, he said.

But McEachran said he would be surprised if Oregon doesn't extradite someone accused of sexual assault.

U.S. justice authorities said suspects are sometimes set free after serving time in one state, despite warrants in others, because a hold isn't put on the prisoner.

"He should not be cut loose when he finishes serving his sentence, but there are always loopholes in the system," said Jake Greer, parole-officer supervisor in Salem. "It may very well happen again."

Greer said Gregory Zuck, a lawyer for Canada's Immigration Ministry, said he would contact him when Carnes was released.

Greer also said he expected California to extradite Carnes from Washington before Oregon did.

Lodrick Clark, an investigator in California familiar with Carnes' case, said Oregon would likely extradite Carnes before California did.

Spokesmen for Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and for the Canadian Border Services Agency said they couldn't comment on Carnes' case while it is before the courts.