NCMEC Applauds U.S. Marshals and ICE for Capture of Nation’s Most Wanted Accused Child Pornographer
Former Law Enforcement Officer Was Cornered in Hong Kong
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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 fugitives 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.
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