Public defender charged in marriage sham

ST. LOUIS -- The former head of the state public defender's office in St. Louis faces federal charges for arranging a sham marriage to keep his boyfriend in the United States, federal prosecutor Catherine Hanaway said Friday.

Eric Affholter, 40, and the man described by prosecutors as his partner, Pedro Cerna-Rojas, 31, a native of Peru, were indicted on one count each of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud. Affholter was arrested Friday and released on $50,000 bond. Authorities were searching for Cerna-Rojas, and believe he may have fled the country, Hanaway said.

Affholter resigned last week as district public defender for St. Louis. The office provides legal counsel for the indigent. Also resigning was the woman who married Cerna-Rojas, Collette Lewis, who was an assistant public defender working under Affholter. Hanaway said there was no evidence she was coerced into participating, but she was not indicted.

A third lawyer also resigned for his alleged role in the scam. Timothy O'Leary, a prosecutor in the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's office, witnessed the marriage, but also was not indicted.

"It's very disturbing that three lawyers who were sworn to uphold the law were parties to this marriage," Hanaway said.

Immigration law allows a foreign national who marries a U.S. citizen to obtain permanent residence. But the law does not recognize gay marriage, nor does it allow for sponsorship of a same-sex partner.

Molly McKay of Marriage Equality USA, an Oakland, Calif., group that advocates for marriage rights for same-sex partners, called the prosecution outrageous. She noted that a bill introduced May 7 would change federal law and allow same-sex couples to sponsor each other for the purpose of immigration.

Hanaway said her office became aware of the sham marriage last month by a reporter from KSDK-TV and began investigating.

Officials learned that Affholter and Cerna-Rojas were longtime roommates.

Cerna-Rojas originally entered the United States on a visitor visa in 2000 and was granted a student visa later that year as he attended Webster University. That visa expired in 2004.

The indictment alleges that Affholter and Cerna-Rojas recruited Lewis to marry Cerna-Rojas just to keep him in the country. They wed Dec. 10, 2004, in Las Vegas, the vows witnessed by Affholter and O'Leary, Lewis' live-in boyfriend.

Hanaway said the marriage was never consummated and Cerna-Rojas went back to living with Affholter.

Calls to Affholter's home were not answered. His attorney, Adam Fein, did not return phone messages. Calls to the Missouri State Public Defender office were not returned.