British child rapist to be deported

A British national would be sent back to the United Kingdom where he had been convicted of sexually molesting a girl more than 10 years ago.

The Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) fugitive search unit arrested Robert Evans, 63, on Thursday in the town of Mahaplag, Leyte province.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said Evans was hunted and arrested upon the request of the British Embassy in Manila, which informed the BI of the suspect’s record as a convicted child sex offender.

“We will immediately deport him to protect Filipino children from being victimized by him while he is in the country,” Morente said in a statement.

Evans is now detained at the BI detention facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, and is awaiting deportation to his home country.

Bobby Raquepo, BI fugitive search unit chief, said Evans first came to the Philippines in January 2010.

He married a Filipina whom he met over the internet, the BI said.

Authorities in United Kingdom sought Evans’ arrest upon seeing that his Facebook accounts and that of his wife showed him having child contacts and photos which showed young girls sitting on his lap.

“He violated an order from the UK court prohibiting him from having contact with minors,” Raquepo said.

Aside from having sex with a minor, Evans was also convicted of befriending a child with the objective of sexual abuse and taking indecent photographs of children.

Morente said Evans had been issued a permanent visa by the BI because of his marriage to a Filipina.