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Arrest Made in Internet Child Abuse Case
By SHANNON DININNY, Associated Press Writer
Wed May 2, 5:10 PM
An undated photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service ...
KENNEWICK, Wash. - A man accused of raping his own daughter and videotaping the attack has been arrested in Hong Kong, ending a global manhunt that began after the girl's decision to tell her story on national TV helped connect the case to some of the Internet's most notorious molestation videos.
Police apprehended Kenneth John Freeman at the Hong Kong airport Tuesday night after he arrived there from mainland China. Officials said he injured four Chinese police officers while resisting arrest, but they did not release details or say whether Freeman also was hurt.
Freeman was living in Seattle when he fled the United States last year, months after his daughter told her mother he had assaulted her four years earlier. He was on the most-wanted lists of the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The girl appeared on the TV show "America's Most Wanted" to talk about the case. Tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after the show aired helped the center identify the girl as the victim in a series of child pornography videos, according to the Marshals Service. Video of the abuse is among the most widely downloaded child pornography videos in recent years, officials said.
Video files depicting the abuse also were discovered on a computer Freeman had given to his daughter.
Chris Peale, the girl's stepfather, said at a news conference in Kennewick that she deserves the most credit.
"We're rejoicing today. An awful man, an evil man has been captured," Peale said, glancing at his now-17-year-old stepdaughter, who smiled during the event but did not speak.
"Without her strength and conviction, this would never have happened," Peale said. "She stood up in front of America and said what had happened to her, and that's an admirable thing."
Authorities in Turkey, Greece and China helped U.S. officials track Freeman, 44, who officials say is an avid bodybuilder and computer expert who volunteered in the 1980s as a reserve sheriff's deputy in southeast Washington's Benton County.
"This is an embarrassment to law enforcement because of what he is accused of," Benton County Sheriff Larry Taylor said. "We're just all happy to see him in custody."
Investigators tracked Freeman to Suzhou, China, where he is believed to have been working at the local office of a U.S.-based company.
The U.S. does not have an extradition agreement with the Chinese government to return fugitives to their native nations. However, such a treaty does exist between the U.S. and Hong Kong. In the past several weeks, investigators discovered Freeman was planning to travel to Hong Kong, where he was arrested on his arrival at the airport, officials said.
"Our offices all over the world have been searching for him, have dedicated significant resources to finding him, and it's paid off," said Aaron Wilson, assistant special agent in charge at ICE's Seattle office. "Hopefully, we'll bring him back to the United States soon."
Freeman has been charged in Benton County Superior Court with three counts of rape of a child and jumping bail. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Freeman also faces federal charges of producing and distributing child pornography.
By SHANNON DININNY, Associated Press Writer
Wed May 2, 5:10 PM
An undated photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service ...
KENNEWICK, Wash. - A man accused of raping his own daughter and videotaping the attack has been arrested in Hong Kong, ending a global manhunt that began after the girl's decision to tell her story on national TV helped connect the case to some of the Internet's most notorious molestation videos.
Police apprehended Kenneth John Freeman at the Hong Kong airport Tuesday night after he arrived there from mainland China. Officials said he injured four Chinese police officers while resisting arrest, but they did not release details or say whether Freeman also was hurt.
Freeman was living in Seattle when he fled the United States last year, months after his daughter told her mother he had assaulted her four years earlier. He was on the most-wanted lists of the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The girl appeared on the TV show "America's Most Wanted" to talk about the case. Tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after the show aired helped the center identify the girl as the victim in a series of child pornography videos, according to the Marshals Service. Video of the abuse is among the most widely downloaded child pornography videos in recent years, officials said.
Video files depicting the abuse also were discovered on a computer Freeman had given to his daughter.
Chris Peale, the girl's stepfather, said at a news conference in Kennewick that she deserves the most credit.
"We're rejoicing today. An awful man, an evil man has been captured," Peale said, glancing at his now-17-year-old stepdaughter, who smiled during the event but did not speak.
"Without her strength and conviction, this would never have happened," Peale said. "She stood up in front of America and said what had happened to her, and that's an admirable thing."
Authorities in Turkey, Greece and China helped U.S. officials track Freeman, 44, who officials say is an avid bodybuilder and computer expert who volunteered in the 1980s as a reserve sheriff's deputy in southeast Washington's Benton County.
"This is an embarrassment to law enforcement because of what he is accused of," Benton County Sheriff Larry Taylor said. "We're just all happy to see him in custody."
Investigators tracked Freeman to Suzhou, China, where he is believed to have been working at the local office of a U.S.-based company.
The U.S. does not have an extradition agreement with the Chinese government to return fugitives to their native nations. However, such a treaty does exist between the U.S. and Hong Kong. In the past several weeks, investigators discovered Freeman was planning to travel to Hong Kong, where he was arrested on his arrival at the airport, officials said.
"Our offices all over the world have been searching for him, have dedicated significant resources to finding him, and it's paid off," said Aaron Wilson, assistant special agent in charge at ICE's Seattle office. "Hopefully, we'll bring him back to the United States soon."
Freeman has been charged in Benton County Superior Court with three counts of rape of a child and jumping bail. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Freeman also faces federal charges of producing and distributing child pornography.
