French citizen sentenced for illegal border cross in Maine

BANGOR, Maine – Federal prosecutors say a citizen of France has been sentenced for entering the United States on a dirt logging road in Maine after being deported.

Acting United States Attorney Richard W. Murphy says Philippe Maurice was sentenced to 113 days of time served and a year of supervised release. Maurice pleaded guilty in June.

Court records say border patrol agents found Maurice riding a bike on a dirt road in Portage, Maine, in May. Prosecutors say Maurice first claimed to be a U.S. citizen, but could only produce a French driver’s license.

He then said that friends had dropped him off in Canada and he entered the U.S. illegally by riding his bike through a closed port of entry.

Maurice had been removed from the U.S. in 2015.