Canadian judge held for seeking sex from refugee

Ottawa, Apr 22: A former Canadian immigration judge has been convicted for seeking sexual favor from a South Korean woman in exchange for granting her asylum, the court said.

Former Immigration and Refugee Board judge, Steve Ellis was pronounced guilty of breaching trust and bribery in relation to the refugee application by the Ontario Superior Court Justice Thea Herman.

According to prosecutors, Ellis allegedly met 25-year-old Ji-Hye Kim in Sep 2006, at a Toronto coffee shop and threaten to reject her application if she refused to established an 'intimate relationship' with him.

A video and audio recordings of their conversation, recorded secretely by Kim and her boyfriend was presented before the court, during the trial.

In the recording, Ellis coerced Kim to have illicit relationship with him.

"Let me see what I can do. I'm going to work on it. I really want to be friends with you."

"You've got a boyfriend. I've got a wife," he said. "Don't worry. I'm not going to be demanding. I'm not going to ask you to move in with me or anything like that." "I'm not going to fall in love with you," Ellis was recorded as saying.

Kim was seeking refuge from her abusive father and money lenders back home in South Korea.

Ellis, who was Toronto city councillor from 1991 to 1997 before assuming office as immigration judge, will be sentence on Jun 4.

OneIndia News