Philadelphia Man Who Raped Child for Eight Years Indicted for Concealing His Crimes to Obtain U.S. Citizenship

PHILADELPHIA – Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Sumo Dukulah, 47, of Philadelphia, PA, was charged by Indictment on the charge of procurement of citizenship by false statement.

According to the Indictment, approximately fourteen months after he took the oath and was sworn in as a United States citizen, the defendant was arrested in Philadelphia in April 2013 on charges of raping a minor child, beginning when the victim was eight years-old in 2004 and continuing until March 2013 when she was 16 years-old. Dukulah was ultimately convicted of those charges and is currently serving a state sentence of 31-63 years in prison. The Indictment alleges that when the defendant applied to become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2011, he falsely claimed that he had never committed a crime, when during the same time period, he was actively committing a crime by raping a child. As a result of his fraudulent claims in his application to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Dukulah’s citizenship was granted in January 2012.

“Applying to become a citizen of the United States necessitates your willingness to adhere to the laws of our Nation,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Williams. “What this defendant did, and the crime for which he was convicted, is not just illegal but is also morally repugnant and shocking. The defendant then allegedly lied about it in order to obtain U.S. citizenship, and he will have to answer to this charge in federal court.”

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, three years’ supervised release, a $200 special assessment, and revocation of his U.S. citizenship.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Josh A. Davison.

An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.