Under the cover of darkness, a Canadian pilot quietly landed his private plane the night of Aug. 29 at the Erie-Ottawa International Airport near Port Clinton, delivering a woman to the United States who was prohibited from entering the country.

The pilot, Ryan Brandt, 27, of Windsor, Ont., has been in the Lucas County jail ever since, held on federal charges of illegal entry and transporting aliens.

Brandt, who admitted he flew at low altitudes to evade radar detection, pleaded guilty Dec. 4 in U.S. District Court, and on Wednesday was sentenced by Judge Jack Zouhary to the 5½ months he already has spent in jail.

The judge also said that by law, his plane, a 1975 Cessna 172M, would be forfeited to the federal government.

Brandt tearfully implored the judge to let him keep the plane he said he’d spent more hours working on than flying.

“If I would have known how serious the consequences would have been, I would have never even thought of flying here,” he said. “I’ve lost nearly everything I care about over this mistake.”

Judge Zouhary said it was clear Brandt was a respected member of his community and a man who had worked hard to build a career based on his love of flying, but it was also clear he’d made a huge mistake when he landed on American soil.

“The world changed after 9/​11, and what might have been seen in the past as a minor indiscretion is not so anymore because of the world we live in,” the judge said.

Brandt told the court that while life in jail had been difficult for him — he said he had been assaulted and was threatened almost daily by gang members — he would gladly stay in jail longer if it meant he could keep the plane.

Defense attorney Jane Roman called Brandt’s pilot’s license and the plane “his livelihood and his lifeline.”

“It’s probably been the No. 1 priority for Mr. Brandt because it’s how he makes his living, and his mother assisted in taking out the equivalent of a second mortgage in order to finance the purchase of this plane,” she said.

Judge Zouhary said that while the consequences might seem severe to Brandt, he was lucky no one got hurt, that the arrival of a plane that was flying under the radar did not evoke an even more serious response. He called it an ill-conceived plan.

“What is clear is that all of you knew this was illegal,” the judge said. “What you didn’t know was, wow, that much time, that much pain, that much suffering, and hopefully you understand the context for all of that.”

Co-defendant Kathryn Adamson, 62, of Barrie, Ont., pleaded guilty to illegal entry, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced Jan. 16 to the two months she spent in jail and ordered to pay a $700 fine. She had been barred from entering the United States for previously overstaying her visa.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Freeman said a charge of aiding and abetting the transportation of an alien is pending against her boyfriend, Gerald Leroux of Tarpon Springs, Fla., whom she was attempting to visit when Brandt flew her to Port Clinton.

Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.

First Published February 12, 2015, 5:00 a.m.