Former Bethel Park police officer pleads guilty to illegally transporting woman into United States

PITTSBURGH — A former lieutenant in the Bethel Park Police Department has pleaded guilty to illegally transporting a Venezuelan woman into the United States.

According to a news release, Blake Babin, 59, paid for an 18-year-old woman from Venezuela living in Colombia to be taken to the border so she could illegally cross into the United States.

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After two failed attempts, the woman crossed the border near El Paso, Texas. Babin was waiting there to take her to Phoenix and then Pittsburgh.

The release said Babin met the woman in Colombia, where she was working as a prostitute.

Text messages between Babin and the woman showed he helped her get into the country because he “loved her” and wanted her to help him “keep his house.”

Babin’s sentencing is scheduled for March 13, 2024. He is facing up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.

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