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Ex-Bethel Park police lieutenant pleads guilty to transporting woman illegally in country

By Jon Andreassi staff Writer jandreassi@observer-Reporter.Com 1 min read
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A former Bethel Park police lieutenant pleaded guilty in federal court last week to a single charge of illegally transporting an illegal immigrant.

According to the Department of Justice, between October and December last year, Blake Thomas Babin, 59, sent money to an 18-year-old Venezuelan woman whom he met while in Colombia to help her travel to the United States-Mexico border.

Babin picked her up near the border and brought her to Pittsburgh. According to the DOJ, he helped bring the woman into the country because he “loved her” and she enjoyed sex.

He is scheduled to be sentenced at the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh at 10 a.m. March 13.

He faces a sentence of up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

Bethel Park police confirmed that Babin is no longer employed by the department. He had been with the force since 1990 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2015.

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