At 61 This Ex American Diplomat Wanted The Philippines for the Child Sex
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A Philippine court issued an arrest warrant for an American former diplomat on Thursday, weeks after the 61-year-old was indicted in the United States on charges of engaging in sexual activity with a minor and possession of child pornography. Entailing a request for the suspect’s extradition, the case could set the stage for a complicated legal and diplomatic battle between the two allies whose ties have been tested before over high-profile cases involving Americans in the Philippines.
The allegations against Dean Edward Cheves stem from his time working as a foreign service officer at the U.S. Embassy in Manila from September 2020 to earlier this year, according to the Department of Justice.
During that time, investigators allege Cheves met a 16-year-old Filipino girl online and engaged in sexual activity with her twice despite knowing her age. He is also accused of taking cell phone videos of the activities.
U.S. authorities announced in early August that Cheves was facing one count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and one count of possessing child pornography. He first appeared in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia in July, and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted on both counts.
But the Philippine government wants Cheves tried in the Philippines, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Cheves was sent back to the U.S. in March 2021, according to Philippine authorities. The foreign affairs and justice departments said they are studying options to extradite Cheves to the Philippines.
"Assuming that these issues have been clarified, we shall proceed to coordinate with the U.S. Department of Justice under the umbrella of the Philippines-U.S. mutual legal assistance treaty," Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra previously told local media.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila declined to comment about the possibility of extradition and referred questions to the U.S. Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to VICE World News’ request for comment.
In September 2020, Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, a U.S. marine who was convicted of brutally killing transgender woman Jennifer Laude, was released from prison and deported days after President Rodrigo Duterte pardoned him. Pemberton’s case sparked a major diplomatic row between the Philippines and the U.S. as activists demanded an end to the Visiting Forces Agreement, a deal that allows American soldiers to spend time in the Philippines.
Pemberton had only served less than six out of 10 years of his already reduced jail time in a special facility in Manila managed by the U.S. authorities.
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