Retired US Marines captain Michael Joseph Pepe (L), seen here in 2006, was in custody in Los Angeles after being expelled from Cambodia for allegedly sexually abusing children in the Southeast Asian nation.(AFP/File/Tang Chhin Sothy)Friday, February 9, 2007
By: North County Times wire services (California, USA)
LOS ANGELES - A retired Marine Corps captain who worked as a teacher in Phnom Penh is jailed without bond in Los Angeles today after being expelled from Cambodia to face charges for allegedly forcing young girls while in that country to engage in sex acts with him.
Michael Joseph Pepe, 53, arrived on a flight Wednesday, escorted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, authorities said.
The head of investigations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles, Robert Schoch, said the details of Pepe's case "are as appalling as any we've ever encountered in a sex tourism investigation."
Pepe is charged under a U.S. law that allows prosecution of individuals for engaging in engaging in child sex tourism. If convicted of the charge, he faces up to 30 years in prison, according to ICE.
In an affidavit filed in the case, authorities allege Pepe paid a prostitute a finder's fee to bring him young victims. He allegedly paid the young girls' families a fee and monthly stipend for access to the girls for sexual gratification. In one case, the prostitute admitted receiving $10 for finding him a young girl, whose family received $300, authorities allege.
Pepe was arrested by the Cambodian National Police in June after an investigation by U.S. and Cambodia authorities, according to ICE. The ICE investigation was opened after it received information from two groups alleging Pepe had raped and sexually abused local children using bondage, drugs and beatings, court papers state.
Agents who searched Pepe's home found rope and cloth strips allegedly used to restrain the victims, child pornography, children's clothes, and mood altering drugs, along with newspaper articles about pedophiles, according to ICE.
Pepe's computer contained hundreds of images of nude and semi-clothed children, in some cases bound, performing various sex acts with a man authorities believe is Pepe, according to ICE.
An affidavit filed in support of the charges states ICE agents interviewed four of Pepe's alleged victims, who ranged in age from 9 to 12. The girls stated he had sexually abused them, according to ICE.
Schoch said the case is "yet another reminder that pedophiles believe they can evade detection and prosecution by committing sex crimes overseas. Fortunately for the world's young people, foreign authorities and U.S. law enforcement are allied in their resolve to combat this problem and bring the perpetrators to justice."
Michael Joseph Pepe, 53, arrived on a flight Wednesday, escorted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, authorities said.
The head of investigations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles, Robert Schoch, said the details of Pepe's case "are as appalling as any we've ever encountered in a sex tourism investigation."
Pepe is charged under a U.S. law that allows prosecution of individuals for engaging in engaging in child sex tourism. If convicted of the charge, he faces up to 30 years in prison, according to ICE.
In an affidavit filed in the case, authorities allege Pepe paid a prostitute a finder's fee to bring him young victims. He allegedly paid the young girls' families a fee and monthly stipend for access to the girls for sexual gratification. In one case, the prostitute admitted receiving $10 for finding him a young girl, whose family received $300, authorities allege.
Pepe was arrested by the Cambodian National Police in June after an investigation by U.S. and Cambodia authorities, according to ICE. The ICE investigation was opened after it received information from two groups alleging Pepe had raped and sexually abused local children using bondage, drugs and beatings, court papers state.
Agents who searched Pepe's home found rope and cloth strips allegedly used to restrain the victims, child pornography, children's clothes, and mood altering drugs, along with newspaper articles about pedophiles, according to ICE.
Pepe's computer contained hundreds of images of nude and semi-clothed children, in some cases bound, performing various sex acts with a man authorities believe is Pepe, according to ICE.
An affidavit filed in support of the charges states ICE agents interviewed four of Pepe's alleged victims, who ranged in age from 9 to 12. The girls stated he had sexually abused them, according to ICE.
Schoch said the case is "yet another reminder that pedophiles believe they can evade detection and prosecution by committing sex crimes overseas. Fortunately for the world's young people, foreign authorities and U.S. law enforcement are allied in their resolve to combat this problem and bring the perpetrators to justice."
5 comments:
Sicko. I hope he gets the maximum pentalty.
This dangerous sex offender must be locked behind bar without bail and without parole. He must pay to his victims each child for 1 million dollar for the pain he caused.
Instead of concerning itself with the ECCC, why doesn't the Cambodian Bar Association encourage some creative lawsuits and sue the school that hired the creep. Any school in Cambodia hiring a foreign unmarried male over the age of 25 should be put on notice.
Stop, twisting the truth, Fluke's
Boy. We all know your Ethiopian's
Tics and Fleas willfully send
pedophiles and criminals to destroy
us. And for every one who got
caught, nine of them are currently
victimized our kids. So, don't do
us any favor, okay?
it's a good idea 4:08pm, law suit will get them to be careful of who they hire. cambodia needs to learn to check background or credit history. we need to create a database for this. there is a business opportunity for any investors. collect data from financial institution, police, court, VMD and make millions.
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