DAVAO CITY (May 28) — Bureau of Immigration personnel along with police authorities arrested on Monday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) a suspected American pedophile while meeting his would-be victim who is a female minor.
In a press statement, Immigration Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina identified the suspect as Piotr Kmita, 43-year-old , who just arrived via China Eastern Airlines flight from Pudong, China.
Bienvenido Castillo, who heads the BI-NAIA’s Border Control and Intelligence Unit (BCIU), said that agents from the US government’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) sought the assistance of BI in monitoring the American, after he was discovered to have engaged in sexually explicit conversations his young victim that he befriended online through Facebook.
He was subsequently turned over to the custody of the Philippine National Police’s women and children protection center (WCPC) in Pampanga where the rescued girl hails.
Medina said Kmita will be charged for violating Republic Act 10364 or the expanded anti-trafficking in persons act which penalizes the act of “procuring a child for prostitution and obtaining a person for the purpose of prostitution, pornography or sexual exploitation.”
Bienvenido Castillo, who heads the BI-NAIA’s Border Control and Intelligence Unit (BCIU), said that agents from the US government’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) sought the assistance of BI in monitoring the American, after he was discovered to have engaged in sexually explicit conversations his young victim that he befriended online through Facebook.
“The HSI then relayed the information to the PNP regional office in Pampanga, and we jointly conducted the operations to intercept Kmita upon his arrival in Manila,” Castillo added.
Castillo reported that the arresting agents tailed Kmita from the moment he arrived up to the area outside the airport where he met his victim, where he was also arrested.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente commended the efforts of the officers in ensuring the successful apprehension of the foreign pedophile. “Different agencies should work together to successfully weed out undesirables like him,” said Morente. “His presence here poses a serious threat to our women and children. Thanks to the vigilance and cooperation of our law enforcement agencies, as well as to the HSI for giving us information that led to this pedophile’s arrest,” Morente said.
The BI Chief said Kmita’s deportation will have to wait until the criminal charges against him are resolved, adding that, if convicted, the alien will have to serve his sentence first before he could be sent back to the US.
He warned foreign nationals who are planning to travel to the Philippines for illegal activities. “Do not prey on our women and children. We do not welcome sex tourists in the country,” said Morente.-NewsLine.ph
