Man Once Held on Rape Charges Is Rearrested

The Liberian immigrant who avoided trial on child rape charges in Montgomery County because of difficulty finding him an interpreter has been arrested again, this time for allegedly failing to appear at a hearing involving a prosecution effort to reinstate the charges.

Mahamu D. Kanneh, 23, of Gaithersburg was taken into custody Monday night in Philadelphia. Sexual assault charges against Kanneh were dismissed last month by a judge who ruled that delays in the case -- caused primarily by the interpreter issue -- had violated his right to a speedy trial.

Kanneh did not attend a court hearing Friday at which prosecutors were seeking to impose conditions on his release while they appeal that ruling.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy Chief Darren Popkin said Kanneh tried to escape when Philadelphia police officers arrived at the residence where he was staying. "He fled down the stairs and attempted to get to a back door," Popkin said.

Popkin said Kanneh appeared to have moved to Philadelphia: "He had packed up his belongings."

Kanneh was expected to appear before a judge in Philadelphia yesterday, the first step in extraditing him to Maryland. He could be returned to Montgomery as early as tomorrow.

In a motion filed last week, prosecutors asked a judge to impose the same conditions that were placed on Kanneh while he was awaiting trial: that he be barred from having contact with children, be forced to surrender his passport and other travel documents, be issued an ankle bracelet to track his whereabouts and be barred from leaving the state without permission from the county's pretrial supervision agency.

Kanneh's defense attorney, Theresa Chernosky, objected to the state's request, noting in a court filing that Kanneh had complied with the terms of his pretrial supervision program. "Mr. Kanneh has never been accused of trying to leave the area or trying to run away from this charge," she wrote.

Chernosky said during the hearing Friday that she had been unable to contact Kanneh in recent days and that he had not been notified of the hearing.

Kanneh was arrested in August 2004 after witnesses told police he had raped and repeatedly sexually molested a 7-year-old girl, who was a relative. According to charging documents, he also fondled an 18-month-old girl. Kanneh spent one night in jail before being released on a $10,000 bond.

His trial date was postponed repeatedly, mainly because court officials were unable to find an interpreter fluent in Vai, his native dialect. Delays were compounded by a dispute about whether Kanneh, who attended high school and community college in Montgomery County, required an interpreter at all.

Last month, Chernosky filed a motion seeking to have the indictment dismissed, arguing that her client's constitutional right to a speedy trial had been violated. Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Katherine Savage granted that motion, dismissing the case July 17.

Staff writer Mariana Minaya contributed to this report.