2 convicted American sex offenders denied entry to PH -- BI
Two convicted American sex offenders were denied entry to the Philippines last Dec. 1 when they arrived separately at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) and at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
In a statement, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) identified the two "undesirable aliens" as Mark David Scanlon, 53, and Richard Stuart Patterson, 33.
“We are duty-bound to implement a provision in our immigration act that prohibits the entry of aliens convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude,” Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.
“We will not allow the entry of these undesirable aliens to pose a threat to our women and children,” he stressed.
BI said that Scanlon and Patterson arrived last Friday, Dec. 1, at the MCIA from Taiwan and at the NAIA Terminal 1 from Los Angeles, respectively.
“Both passengers were already sent back to their ports of origin hours after they were denied entry,” it said.
It also said that “in 2012 a court in Cook County, Illinois convicted Scanlon on the charge of indecently soliciting a child over the Internet wherein the victim was 11 years of age.”
“Patterson was convicted in Oregon on May 2011 on the charges of sexual abuse on the second degree and sodomy on the third degree where the victims were 15 and 13 years old, respectively,” it added.