Canadian-born Victor David, who abused his disabled wife and held her prisoner on a filthy sailboat for years, professed that he wanted to reunite with her and stay in the United States.
He will be able to do neither.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced Wednesday that David has been deported to Canada.
“Foreign nationals who are convicted of brutal crimes are not welcome in this country,” said Dorothy Stefan, chief counsel for ICE in Seattle. “ICE will use every enforcement tool and legal authority at its disposal to remove those aliens who pose a threat to the safety or security of this community.”
News of David’s deportation was greeted with “guarded relief” by the court-appointed guardian for Linda David, 57, who needs 24-hour care and is living at an undisclosed location in King County.
“I wouldn’t put anything past him to try to sneak back into the country and somehow try to locate her,” said Linda Fulp, executive director of Seattle-based Partners in Care. “It certainly is more comfortable having him deported than not.”
Victor David, 66, was convicted in 2001 of brutally beating and imprisoning his wife for years on a sailboat that was moored in Everett, Marysville and other Puget Sound locations.
He has continuously denied causing injuries that left Linda David with scars, brain damage and an inability to walk.
For seven years, Victor David was paid by the state to be her caregiver after he claimed she had multiple sclerosis. The state eventually paid an $8.8 million settlement of a lawsuit alleging negligence.
Linda David’s full-time care is being paid out of the trust established as a result of that settlement, Fulp said. The couple was divorced last year.
Victor David served his full time in prison and was released to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in early August. Stefan said he was deported Sept. 15, four days after he told officials he would not fight attempts to remove him.
There are several reasons he could have given for trying to stay in the United States, Stefan said. He represented himself at an immigration hearing.
“He opted not to apply for any of them,” she said. “He may have weighed his position and decided this was the better course of action.”
Victor David had been a legal permanent resident, but the assault and an additional conviction of illegally possessing a firearm triggered deportation after his release from prison, Stefan said.
Under the law, Victor David can someday ask to legally re-enter the United States.
“It’s difficult but not impossible for them to ever return lawfully to the United States,” an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.
If he tries to return without going through that process, “he would be subject to criminal arrest and prosecution,” Stefan said.
Meanwhile, guardian Fulp said Linda David has not been informed of her ex-husband’s deportation and she might not even be able to grasp the concept now.
“Even if I sat down and told her it would be a difficult conversation for her to comprehend,” Fulp said. “At some point she will be informed. But this is not anything she’s been thinking about.”
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