Washington
D.C. - Former lawman Kenneth John Freeman, one of the world’s
most notorious accused child molesters, was arrested yesterday in
Hong Kong. Freeman, 44, was on the U.S. Marshals 15 MOST WANTED
fugitive list and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ICE
MOST WANTED FUGITIVES listing. The arrest was based on a formal
request by the U.S. State Department. Freeman, a former Washington
state resident, is accused of molesting his own young daughter, then
posting the videos online.
Internet scenes allegedly showing the girl being raped by her father
became one of the most widely downloaded child pornography videos in
recent years. Freeman is an avid competitive bodybuilder and
computer expert, and formerly worked as a reserve sheriff’s deputy
in Benton County, Washington. But since 2005, a series of charges
against him by federal and local courts has made him the subject of
a worldwide manhunt.
Faced with those charges, Freeman fled the U.S. last year. According
to the U.S. Marshals Service, which now coordinates national efforts
to capture unregistered sex offenders and individuals charged with
child abuse, it is believed that Freeman was living in the city of
Suzhou, People’s Republic of China.
“This complex, international case was a challenge for the Marshals,
ICE, and our law enforcement partners,” said Director John F. Clark.
“But fugitives charged with crimes against children are our top
priority. Freeman now will be returned to the United States to face
the justice he deserves.”
“The arrest of this accused child molester proves the global reach
of our law enforcement partnership,” said Julie L. Myers, Assistant
Secretary, Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Freeman will be returned for trial here, where penalties for child
exploitation are among the toughest in the world.”
Law enforcement went public with their search as early last
December, when Freeman was featured on television’s America’s Most
Wanted. His daughter, now a teenager and an advocate against child
sexual abuse, went on TV to tell her story. Clues began to fall into
place. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)
had long known of a series of child pornography videos showing the
abuse of an unidentified girl. They were convinced the child and her
abuser were from the Pacific Northwest, and when the Freeman case
received national publicity, calls to NCMEC linked the girl on
America’s Most Wanted to the unidentified child in the video series.
Sources at the U.S. Marshals said that Freeman’s presence in China
was uncovered by an investigative team made up of experts from the
Marshals, ICE, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, and special
agents from State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. It is
believed that Freeman was working for a U.S. based firm while in
China. No extradition treaty exists between the People’s Republic of
China and the United States, but when the Chinese were informed
about Freeman they agreed to help. An extradition treaty still
exists between Hong Kong and the U.S.
In late April, information was developed
by investigators that Freeman intended to travel to Hong Kong. Upon
his arrival yesterday, he was arrested by law enforcement officials
from the Chinese government. Freeman now faces extradition to the
United States to face federal charges, as well as those in
Washington State. This case is part of ICE’s Operation Predator, an
initiative to safeguard children from pedophiles, international sex
tourists, internet child pornographers and human traffickers.
For the Marshals Wanted Poster on
Freeman, see www.usmarshals.gov/.
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Original News Release |