Pasay court issues arrest warrant for ex-US diplomat accused of child abuse

A Pasay City court has issued an arrest warrant to a former American diplomat who allegedly abused a Filipina minor while he was serving in the Philippines.

On August 23, Judge Christian Castañeda of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 109 ordered authorities to arrest Dean Cheves, who faces cases for violation of the laws against child abuse and child pornography.

The court set the bail at P200,000 for each case.

Cheves, however, is no longer in the Philippines. He was sent back to the United States last March to undergo trial for the same acts, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The DOJ is currently studying the possibility of seeking extradition to bring Cheves to the Philippines to face his cases.

According to state prosecutors, Cheves filmed his sexual encounter with the minor without her consent and even sent her copies of it.

“Forensic evidence provided by the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Division corroborated the allegations of the child as it clearly shows the respondent (Cheves) engaging in a lewd conversation with the child talking about their sexual encounters and preferences,” the prosecutors said in a resolution dated August 3.

“Respondent even shared videos of their sexual intercourse and money was also sent by the respondent to the child. The acts of the respondent have debased, degraded, and demeaned the intrinsic worth and dignity of the child as a human being.”

The prosecutors filed the cases following a complaint filed by the 16-year-old student’s mother.—LDF, GMA News