4 foreign sex offenders apprehended at NAIA

Four more foreign sex offenders who were found guilty of sex crimes in their home countries have been apprehended by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco stated that the four passengers—two Americans, a German, and an Australian—were immediately excluded upon their arrival at NAIA terminals 1 and 3.

The Australian was identified as Romeo Monje, 89, who arrived on 12 March via a Philippine Airlines flight from Sydney.

According to reports, Monje was found guilty on eight counts of indecent assault in Australia, even though the victim was just sixteen years old. After receiving information about Monje's travels to the Philippines from its Australian counterpart, Interpol's National Central Office in Manila notified the Brueau about his imminent arrival.

Meanwhile, the American nationals were identified as Sherman Elliot Douglas, 64, and John Kenneth Hayes, 48, who arrived in the country via an Eva Air flight from Taipei on March 14 and March 15, respectively.

According to the BI Border Control and Intelligence Unit (BI-BCIU), Hayes was found guilty in 1998 of sexual assault and indecent assault against a 16-year-old victim by a Florida court.

Douglas, however, was found guilty in 2020 of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, according to US public records.

On 18 March, a German national, Ralf Bultschnieder, attempted to enter the country at NAIA Terminal 3 on board a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul.

BI officials at NAIA Terminal 3 stopped Bultschnieder after obtaining an intelligence report regarding his potential involvement in acts and activities of exploitation.

All four of them were put on the immigration blacklist of undesirable aliens who are permanently barred from entering the country as a result of their exclusion.