A 23-year-old Montgomery County man charged with sexually abusing two young girls and who has been the focus of a legal battle over his right to a translator was ordered released from jail by a circuit court judge Monday, only to be held on federal immigration charges.
Mahamu Kanneh was in the custody of the Montgomery County Detention Center Monday pending clarification of his immigration status, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Kanneh, a Rockville resident originally from Liberia, was ordered released on his own recognizance following a bond hearing in Montgomery County Circuit Court Monday. But that order was swiftly superseded by federal officials.
“ICE has detained him,” spokesman Marc Raimondi said Monday evening.
Kanneh has been at the center of intense media coverage since a judge dismissed charges against him in mid-July. That decision was based on the judge’s finding that Kanneh’s right to a speedy trial had been violated because of the state’s difficulty locating an interpreter who spoke Vai, a rare West African language.
Prosecutors appealed that dismissal.
Kanneh was freed for several days, but after missing a bond hearing, a warrant was issued for his arrest.
His attorneys have maintained he believed he was free to travel and was not aware of a bond hearing.
Kanneh was picked up by U.S. Marshals and city police in Philadelphia as he tried to run out the back door of a home Aug. 6. He was brought back to Montgomery County Friday, according to county jail records.
