Story last updated at 1:33 a.m. Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Chinese couple face deportation, loss of child

Shaoqiang He, back-ground, and his wife, Qin Luo, swing their 11-month-old daughter, Avita He, in her swing in their apartment in Memphis, Tenn., on June 25. In the foreground is a photo of their other daughter, Anna Mae He, who is now 4-years-old. Anna Mae He is in foster care and has been taken away by the foster parents. (AP Photo)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A world away from his home in China and accused of sexual assault, Shaoqiang He made two key decisions.

He ignored legal advice to plea bargain and demanded a jury trial. And when his first child was born with the trial still pending, He and the girl's mother put the baby in foster care since the criminal charge had left them broke and unable to care for her.

The jury trial gamble paid off: He was acquitted in February. But He and wife Qin Luo still can't get daughter Anna Mae back -- and now they're facing possible deportation, and the chance of losing her forever.

"I did not know what to do when my child was born. I just knew we wanted to take good care of her," said He, 38. "We thought we could get her back whenever we wanted."

The Hes have no legal grounds for being in the United States because he came here on a student visa which expired years ago. If an immigration judge orders them deported after a hearing in December, they may have to leave Anna Mae behind. Their lawyer, David Siegel, says the custody fight likely won't be settled by then.

Siegel said his clients didn't know court permission would be needed to get their child back after they agreed to what they thought was temporary custody.

"I'm not sure it was (legally) voluntary," Siegel said.

The Hes are willing to leave the country, said immigration lawyer Lynn Susser, who is advising the couple.

"They just want their child," she said.

But the couple who have custody of the girl, Jerry and Louise Baker of Shelby County, want to adopt her and believe she is better off with them, said their lawyer, Larry Parrish. They didn't initially plan to adopt her, Parrish said, but now they and their three biological children regard her as part of the family.

"It's the same as if somebody was trying to take my child away from me," Parrish said.

For He, the troubles began in October 1998 when He was working on a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Memphis. A student accused him of fondling her in a classroom when no one else was around. Despite He's denials, the university canceled his scholarship and the student stipend that was his primary source of income.

Anna Mae was born in January 1999 to a mother unable to speak English, a father accused of a crime and both parents out of work.

Through a nonprofit adoption agency, the couple met the Bakers, who offered to give Anna Mae a temporary home. The Hes visited Anna Mae regularly for more than a year, but then disputes began over how much access they should have.

An argument broke out in January 2001 and the Bakers called the police. He said his wife became upset when denied permission to take Anna Mae to have a family photo made.

Baker, a mortgage broker, and his wife have filed a petition in state civil court to nullify the Hes' parental rights. The Bakers contend Anna Mae's parents have abandoned her, while He says the police ran him off the Bakers' property during the 2001 dispute and told him not to come back.

A civil court judge will consider the Bakers' petition in September. No matter who wins, appeals are likely, and juvenile court hearings still will be needed for a decision on custody.

He has been making a modest living primarily with jobs in Chinese restaurants, and the couple now have two more children. Three-year-old Andy is in China with relatives, while 11-month-old Avita lives with her parents in their sparsely furnished one-bedroom apartment.

Several Chinese immigrants in Memphis have formed the Anna Mae Charitable Foundation and raised about $6,000 to help with legal expenses.

Jing Huang, an environmental engineer and supporter of the group, said he worries the Hes have not been treated fairly.

"If they didn't love the child, they would have given up a long time ago," he said.

The Chinese embassy in Washington has written to the Memphis court and the state attorney general asking for a quick resolution of the custody case and fair treatment for the Hes.