BANGOR (AP) – A New Brunswick man who was turned in by his stepdaughter has been sentenced to 46 days in jail for illegally crossing the border into Maine.

Rene Viel, 40, of St. Francois de Madawaska, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to illegal re-entry after being refused admission into the country.

Viel was arrested on Nov. 13 after crossing the Saint John River in a boat piloted by a friend and being picked up by his wife of three months at a prearranged spot on the U.S. side of the river on Route 161 in far northern Maine.

But Viel’s 13-year-old stepdaughter spoiled the plans when she told border officials and Fort Kent police a few days earlier about the plot. Officials said if the couple had not been turned in, they planned to head to Florida where Viel had a job lined up.

Viel’s wife, Susan Helen Harbison, and her daughter were with him in the car when he was arrested, but they were not charged. The daughter is identified as “Jane Doe” in court documents.

Federal Judge John Woodcock sentenced Viel on Wednesday to the 46 days he had been held at the Piscataquis County Jail since his arrest. Viel was turned over to immigration officials after the sentencing.

Viel, who had been denied entry into the United States twice earlier, faced up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Viel and Harbison admitted that they had been planning the plot for some time, according to court documents.

They told agents that they had met two years earlier and married in September. Harbison said that she moved to Maine from Michigan about a year ago to be near Viel.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-01-01-06 1330EST

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