Suspected American pedophile arrested at NAIA

An American man suspected of being a pedophile was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport while meeting a Filipina minor, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Tuesday.

Piotr Kmita, 43, was arrested at an entrapment operation minutes after he arrived at the airport from Pudong, China, on Monday, the BI said in a statement.

Immigration officers and police tailed Kmita from when he arrived to the spot outside Terminal 1 where he met the minor, who would have been his victim.

US government agents sought assistance from the BI in monitoring the man after they found he had "sexually explicit conversations" with the minor, whom he befriended through Facebook, the bureau reported.

The arrested man is in the custody of police in Pampanga, where the rescued girl hails, the BI added.

The bureau said Kmita will be charged for violating the expanded anti-trafficking in persons law.

Immigration chief Jaime Morente said Kmita will not be deported until the criminal charges against him are resolved. If he is convicted, he would have to serve his sentence before he could be sent back to the US.

“Do not prey on our women and children. We do not welcome sex tourists in the country," Morente said in the statement. —Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/KBK, GMA News