HARRISBURG, Pa. – Arthur Samarin, a Ukrainian native who posed as a student at Harrisburg High School, was sentenced to 11.5 to 23 months in prison for statutory rape. Last week, Samarin was handed a two month prison sentence from a federal judge for passport fraud and social security fraud.
Samarin used the the alias Asher Potts while attending Harrisburg High School from September 2012 through December 2015. The 23 year-old Samarin had sex with a 15 year old girl while he was pretending to be a student. Samarin pleaded guilty in August in state court to statutory sexual assault, identity theft, and tampering with records, and conspiracy with his foster parents to commit those theft related offenses. The identity theft, and tampering with records, and conspiracy offenses were dropped when the federal charges were applied.
Samarin plead guilty in late August to both federal charges before U.S. Middle District Judge Sylvia Rambo.
At issue now is whether Samarin will serve the time or be deported immediately in order to save taxpayers money. He has been in custody for the past nine months.
