A CONVICTED Amercian pedophile wanted by US federal authorities for a string of criminal cases was arrested by Bureau of Immigration (BI) agents in Cagayan over the weekend.
Cody Dean Turner, 38, was arrested Sunday inside his residence along Teresita Blvd., Bgy. Tanza, Tuguegarao City, through the mission order issued by BI Commissioner Jaime Morente which was served by BI fugitive search unit at the request of the US embassy in Manila.
The BI chief noted that the embassy informed them that Turner’s passport was already revoked by the State Department, thus, making the foreigner an undocumented alien who is subject to summary deportation.
“Aside from being undocumented, he will also be deported for undesirability and posing a risk to public safety,” Morente said in a statement.
Turner is the subject of outstanding arrest warrants issued by a judicial circuit court in Greene County, Missouri for failure to appear for his cases of unlawful use of a weapon and driving with a revoked/suspended license; probation violation for second degree assault; and failure to register as a sex offender.
A website on sex offenders also revealed that the then 21-year-old Turner was convicted in 1999 for molesting a nine-year old girl in Holiday Island, Arkansas.
On the other hand, BI Spokesperson Antonette Mangrobang said the American will be deported as soon as the BI board of commissioners issues the order for his summary deportation.
“He will also be placed in our immigration blacklist to prevent him from re-entering our country and pose a threat to the safety of Filipino children,” she added. (FP/SunStar Philippines)