The Philippine government’s move to have former American foreign service officer Dean Edward Cheves extradited will depend on the progress of his case in the United States, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said.
Cheves, who served at the US Embassy in Manila from September 2020 to February 2021, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia last Aug. 3 for engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and possession of pornography.
In the Philippines, Chaves had been charged before the Pasay City regional trial court (RTC) with violations of Section 5(b) of Republic Act No. 7610, the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, and Section 4(b) of RA 9775, the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009.
The charges, both in the US and in the Philippines, were filed against Cheves as a result of the complaint lodged against him by the parents of a 16-year-old Filipina who he reportedly abused sexually and took photographs during the sexual encounters.
The same charges had also been filed by the parents of the Filipina minor against Spanish national Francisco Manuel Sanchez de Oria, 36, also known as Franco Sanchez.
Sanchez was arraigned on Friday, Oct. 29, and pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
He was charged before the Taguig City RTC with 10 counts of violations of RA 7610 and with one count of violation of RA 9775.
Department of Justice Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar said the RTC had denied Sanchez’s motion to dismiss the charges on account of an affidavit of desistance executed by the complainant.
“The Affidavit of Desistance stated that she ‘decided not to pursue the case against Franco Sanchez anymore’ and that the misunderstanding and misapprehension of facts between them have already been patched up,” Villar said.
However, Villar said the RTC found the motion “unmeritorious, citing jurisprudence which provides that ‘as a general rule, courts view unfavorably affidavits of desistance or a recantation of a victim’s testimony, since they can be easily be obtained xxx’ and that such affidavits are ‘viewed with suspicion and reservation’”
“Also, the Presiding Judge stated that the dismissal of a child abuse case is prohibited if made solely on the basis of an affidavit of desistance or recantation submitted by the child and/or the child’s family, citing the Protocol for Case Management of Child Victims of Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation, and DOJ Circular No. 2002-54,” she added.