Minnesota officials granted a foreign sex offender a lenient sentence, early parole, and ultimately a pardon before state leaders intervened to deport him.
Tou Lue Vang of Laos admitted to sexually abusing a 10-year-old in 2005 and accepted a 30-year probation sentence to avoid prison time.
State Secretary Marco Rubio stated that the pedophile was pardoned by Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz but would no longer threaten U.S. citizens after taking action.
Rubio said, “Just days before this foreign sex offender was scheduled to be deported, Tim Walz the governor issued him a pardon, setting him free to once again endanger the children of America.”
Rubio then revoked Vang’s legal status, leading to his removal from the United States by federal agents.
In a statement to KSTP-TV, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who also serves on the Board of Pardons, defended the pardon decision. He cited an “exhaustive process” including a victim’s statement supporting the pardon and community support letters.
The victim released a statement saying: “What happened to me was wrong, but I have had many years to think about this. I have made my peace with it. I forgive him… I want his family to stay together here.”
Rubio concluded: “Americans must never be forced by their elected leaders to live alongside foreign sex criminals who have no right to begin with to reside in our country.”
