Ex-US Rep. Mel Reynolds deported from Zimbabwe, pays $100 fine for flouting immigration law

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Lawyers for former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds say he was deported to the U.S. after a paying a fine for violating Zimbabwe’s immigration laws.

Attorney Arthur Gurira said Monday that Reynolds left Zimbabwe Sunday afternoon.

A Harare magistrate Friday ordered Reynolds to pay a $100 fine or five days’ imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to flouting the country’s immigration laws by staying longer than his visa permitted.

Reynolds, 62, who lost his Illinois congressional seat in 1995 after being convicted of statutory rape, was arrested at a Harare hotel on Feb. 17.

He also faced charges of possessing pornography after images of naked men and women were found on his iPhone. Those charges were dismissed Friday because the judge ruled the police did not have a proper prosecution order.

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