DAVAO CITY — Personnel from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) arrested on July 6, a suspected American pedophile wanted by the US authorities for alleged sexual exploitation of a Filipino minor.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente identified the suspect as Michael Kent Clapper, 69, who arrived in the country on May 26, 2019, as a tourist,
Clapper was arrested in San Manuel, Pangasinan in a joint operation conducted by operatives from the Bureau’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU), Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC), and Philippine National Police (PNP) Region 1.
Morente said the operation stemmed from the letter request of the US Embassy in Manila dated May 26, which sought the Immigration assistance in apprehending Clapper due to his “involvement in possible sexual exploitation of a minor in the Philippines.
“Reports also alleged that the victim is a 12-year-old girl with whom Clapper has been in an “inappropriate relationship,” the BI statement stressed.
The Embassy also stated that Clapper’s US passport already expired and he is now an undocumented alien who is subject to summary deportation.
Clapper will be deported “for being an undocumented and undesirable alien, his continued presence here poses a serious risk to our Filipino children, any one of whom could be his next victim,” Morente added.
The alien is temporarily detained at the San Miguel police headquarters pending release of his swab test for COVID-19. If tested negative for the virus, he will be committed to the BI Warden Facility in Bicutan, Taguig City where he will remain until he is deported.
He will then be placed in the immigration blacklist and banned from re-entering the country.-Newsline
