A 42-year-old illegal immigrant convicted of repeatedly raping a child was awarded a pardon by Gov. Tim Walzs board of pardons after the states clemency commission recommended it be granted to him due to “immigration concerns.”
Fox News Digital reviewed documents from the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission, which voted four to two to to Laotian national Tue Lue Vang following his conviction for criminal sexual conduct. Vang admitted to repeatedly raping a girl over a multi-year period beginning when she was 10 years old. While the two board members who voted against granting a pardon noted the serious nature of Vangs offenses, the four members recommending a pardon each listed concern about him being deported.
One commissioner, Zach Linstrom, who voted in favor of granting the pardon, wrote in his recommendation, “Very tough case but the kids not having a father is not in the best interest of society,” referring to Vangs six children. Artika Roller, another commissioner who voted in favor of the pardon, wrote, “The applicant stated the need for clemency related to .”
Following the commissions recommendation, the s, which consists of Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, awarded Vang a full pardon on June 10, essentially giving him a clean slate as he was set to be deported.
At the time of the pardon, Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis remarked that “Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting.”
“These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota are protecting,” she said.
Vang entered the U.S. through in 1994 and was granted legal status by the Clinton administration. Between 2002 and 2004, when Vang was between 18 and 20 years old, he had sexual intercourse with the victim four to six times. The abuse took place in St. Paul, Minnesota, in Ramsey County. The first rape took place when the victim was in fourth grade.
Documents reviewed by Fox News Digital reveal that the victim “did not understand what Vang was doing, so she let him.” As time went on, the document notes that the victim began to tell her friends about the abuse, who testified that she was “angry and sad” about it. At one time, the document said that Vang offered the victim $10 to keep quiet about the abuse.
While Ramsey County District Court Judge Sara Grewing did not take a position on Vangs pardon, Ramsey County Assistant Attorney Tami McConkey recommended against granting it.
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In her formal opposition statement, McConkey noted that her office had offered a dispositional departure to Vang because the then-12-year-old victim experienced pressure from her family not to cooperate with law enforcement after his arrest.
Vang was sentenced to 12 years in prison following his conviction. However, the sentence was stayed in favor of 30 years of supervised probation, which included one year of local confinement. Ultimately, he served eight months at the county correctional workhouse. He was discharged from probation early in 2019.
McConkey noted that there were several additional aggravating factors in the case, including Vang abusing the victim over an extended period of
