malaysiang
Cebu City – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) in the Philippines is preparing to deport two foreign nationals, an American and a British, who are wanted in their respective countries for child sexual abuse charges.
According to Philippines News Agency, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco announced on Tuesday that American national John Tomas Minor, 42, and British national Derek Gordon Heggie, 40, were apprehended in separate operations by the BI’s fugitive search unit in Cebu province on Monday. Both individuals are set to be deported following the issuance of summary deportation orders by the BI’s board of commissioners. Once deported, they will be included in the BI’s immigration blacklist to prevent their reentry into the Philippines.
Minor was arrested in a condominium unit at the Cebu Business Park in Cebu City, while Heggie was apprehended at a residential unit in Barangay Guadalupe, Bogo City. The arrests followed mission orders issued by Tansingco at the request of US and British authorities, who had informed the BI of the suspects’ criminal backgrounds.
According to US authorities, Minor is under an arrest warrant issued in May by a superior court in Spokane, Washington, for charges related to raping and molesting a child. The National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom informed that Heggie was convicted of sexual assault on August 10, 2005, and has committed several other sex crimes, including the rape of a domestic partner in 2018 and an ex-partner in 2013, along with alleged sexual activity with a minor.
British authorities alerted the BI about Heggie’s known violent behavior and extensive criminal history, which includes various forms of sexual abuse, damage to property, and possession of narcotic substances, among other serious offenses.
Both suspects are currently detained at the BI office in Mandaue City and are awaiting transfer to the BI warden facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.
Commissioner Tansingco emphasized the importance of not allowing sex offenders to use the Philippines as a haven to escape arrest and prosecution for crimes committed in their home countries.
