BI intercepts 2 American sex offenders during New Year rush

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) stopped two American sex offenders from entering the country at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the passenger as 39-year-old Zachary Tyler Thompson, who was intercepted at NAIA Terminal 1 after arriving aboard a Philippine Airlines flight from Los Angeles. Thompson was convicted both in 2013 and 2015 for possessing obscene materials depicting a minor in sexual conduct and for annoying or molesting a child under 18 years of age.

The BI-NAIA also reported the interception of 46-year-old American Paul Neal Coltharp, who was also stopped at NAIA Terminal 1 on 27 December upon his arrival via an Eva Air flight from Taipei. According to the US government, a California court convicted Coltharp of child molestation in 1998, wherein his victim was a 14-year-old girl.

Both aliens were immediately excluded and flown back to their port of origin. Their names have, likewise, been included in the BI blacklist of undesirable aliens.

The BI chief explained that, as registered sex offenders (RSOs), both Thompson and Coltharp are excludable aliens under the Immigration Act, which forbids the entry of aliens convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.