Federal Judge Strips Child Sex Offender Of U.S. Citizenship

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, today announced that a federal judge in Hartford has revoked the citizenship of RORY DECORDOVA GAYLE, 44, formerly of Windsor and West Hartford.

According to court documents, GAYLE was born in Jamaica in 1969 and entered the United States in 1979 as a lawful permanent resident.  In January 1999, GAYLE applied to become a U.S. citizen.  On his Application for Naturalization, GAYLE answered “no” in response to the question “Have you ever . . . knowingly committed any crime for which you have not been arrested?”  In an oral interview with a U.S. immigration official in June 1999, GAYLE swore that all of the information provided on his application was true and correct.  GAYLE’s application was approved and, on August 6, 1999, he was sworn in as a naturalized U.S. citizen.

On October 30, 2000, GAYLE pleaded guilty in Connecticut Superior Court to two counts of first degree sexual assault of a minor for crimes committed between November 1996 and September 1999.  GAYLE was sentenced to 20 years of incarceration, suspended after 15 years, a 10-year period of probation and lifetime registration as a sex offender.  He is currently incarcerated with a maximum release date of July 14, 2014.

After an investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations uncovered GAYLE’s misrepresentations to immigration authorities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office initiated a denaturalization action against GAYLE in October 2012.

On January 29, 2014, U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant ordered GAYLE’s citizenship revoked on the ground that he lacked the good moral character necessary for citizenship, and that his application for naturalization concealed material facts and included willful misrepresentations.

ICE has initiated removal proceedings against GAYLE on the basis of his criminal history.  On April 4, ICE issued an immigration detainer for GAYLE, requesting that the Connecticut Department of Correction transfer GAYLE to ICE custody upon the conclusion of his state sentence.

“For foreign-born individuals, citizenship is a privilege, not a right,” stated U.S. Attorney Daly.  “Mr. Gayle corrupted the naturalization process by concealing his criminal past, a past that included the repeated sexual abuse of a minor.  The revocation of his citizenship is entirely appropriate.”

“Someone who chooses to sexually abuse a child and then lie in order to gain U.S. citizenship possess a serious threat to the community, and we support the judge’s decision to revoke his citizenship,” said Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge of HSI Boston.

This matter was investigated by ICE Homeland Security Investigations and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn A. Ikari

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov