CRIMINAL CHARGES for sexual abuse and child pornography have been filed at a Pasay City court against a former United States embassy official who allegedly abused a Filipina minor.
The court, in a case briefer sent to reporters on Wednesday, said it is now waiting for the issuance of a warrant of arrest against the suspect.
Justice Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar told reporters in a Viber group message on Wednesday that they are also monitoring whether the diplomat has shared videos of the victim online.
They will also coordinate with US foreign law enforcement agents through the Philippines’ Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.
The case stemmed from a complaint against the diplomat received by the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Division on the second week of June this year.
According to the complaint, the diplomat allegedly engaged in illegal sexual conduct with a 16-year-old Filipina and kept obscene videos and photos of the minor as found on his devices.
The accused diplomat was a member of the Foreign Service at the US embassy in Manila from Sept. 2020 to Feb. 2021. He went back to the US in March 2021.
He was also prosecuted at a court in the Eastern District of Virginia for the same offense.
Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra, in a statement on Monday, said they are still coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs for the possible extradition of the diplomat to face the charges against him. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago
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