FBI fugitive arrested in New Brunswick, held for extradition

Accused faces rape charge, warrant issued for his arrest in 2024

Article content An American man has been apprehended by the New Brunswick RCMP after being wanted in the United States for more than two years on sex assault allegations. Simranpal Singh, 26, of West Lafayette, Indiana, appeared in Moncton’s Court of King’s Bench on July 8 for a bail hearing. Singh had made an application for judicial interim release pending an extradition hearing under Canada’s Extradition Act.

New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission lawyer Sabre Pictou Lee spoke to Singh prior to the start of the hearing and informed the judge the bail hearing would not be needed because Singh decided to temporarily waive his right to a bail hearing. She also said an extradition hearing may not be required at all. “He’s considering consenting to removal to the State of Indiana,” said Pictou Lee.

Department of Justice lawyer Patricia MacPhee was at the hearing for the Attorney General of Canada, on behalf of the United States. She told the court Singh has been provisionally arrested, which is when police in one country arrest a person on behalf of another country, with the intent for that person to be extradited. MacPhee said during the July 8 hearing that extradition proceedings had not “begun in full” against Singh, but added that a person in his position “can consent to surrender” to the American authorities.

Justice Christa Bourque ordered the prisoner detained to allow time for the Crown to prepare documents and work out the next steps in the process of returning Singh to the U.S. RCMP said Singh was arrested on a warrant by members of the Codiac Regional RCMP but directed any further questions to the FBI. “We can confirm that Simranpal Singh was provisionally arrested in New Brunswick at the request of the United States in relation to sexual assault offences,” Department of Justice Canada spokeswoman Katelyn Moores wrote. A request for information on Singh’s court case in Indiana was ignored by the Indiana Attorney General’s office but the FBI addressed Singh’s arrest in a news release posted to social media outlets.

“Simranpal Singh has been arrested in Canada by the RCMP following a lengthy investigation conducted in collaboration with FBI Indianapolis, ICE ERO (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations), and CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection),” said FBI Indianapolis. “Singh faces charges of rape by compulsion (rape by force) in Tippecanoe County and will be extradited to the United States. “The FBI works tirelessly alongside its domestic and international partners to bring criminals to justice.”

Tippecanoe County’s online court records state that Singh was charged on April 12, 2024. By the end of April the accused had paid a $2,500 cash bond and a $25,000 surety bond and Singh was released from jail. The accused was supposed to appear in court a few weeks later but failed to do so and on June 21, 2024, the court issued a warrant for his arrest.

The court file gives no indication that Singh ever entered a plea to the charge, having gone missing so early in the case. According to local Indiana media outlet the Purdue Exponent in April 2024, Singh “reportedly offered to let a woman sleep on his couch when she said she was locked out of her apartment,” citing the affidavit. The woman reportedly told police she was visiting a friend and forgot her keys, so she went to a convenience store on South Street.

“Singh, the clerk of the store, offered to let her sleep on the couch at his residence nearby.” That’s when she said she was sexually assaulted. The woman told police she grabbed her phone and fled the apartment, immediately calling police once she had escaped, according to the media report citing the affidavit.

According to the Exponent, West Lafayette police conducted multiple interviews with Singh, in which he allegedly admitted being in the convenience store and taking the woman to his home. He told police he offered to let the woman wait at his house until she could get a ride home and denied having sexual contact with her. The charge was laid after DNA evidence was collected and analyzed, according to the report.