A cargo pilot from New Jersey has been indicted for recording child pornography in the Philippines.
Frank Maile, 63 years old, from Hamilton in Mercer County, New Jersey, was indicted on May 9, Thursday (New Jersey time), the Associated Press reported.
Maile allegedly took photos and videos of two underage girls performing sex acts in the Philippines in 2015. He then allegedly went back to the country in 2016, engaged in sexual acts with the two girls, and took more videos of them. He allegedly took the pornographic videos with plans to sell them.
The retired U.S. Air Force pilot was arrested upon arriving in the U.S. from a trip abroad by Homeland Security Investigations agents in April last year. According to radio station New Jersey 101.5, border security in Huntsville, Alabama found what appeared to be a photo of child sexual abuse inside his laptop.
U.S. federal agents have said that Maile may have victimized as many as 50 underage boys and girls since 2013, The Trentonian reported. This after authorities found thousands of messages in electronics seized from the pilot.
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Investigators also found that Maile had been in communication with what appeared to be an arranger or pimp in the Philippines for several years, App reported.
Maile is now facing two counts of producing child porn abroad, two counts of illicit sexual conduct abroad, and one count for possessing child porn.
Child porn is a serious problem in the Philippines. According to Reuters, the country receives at least 3,000 reports of possible online child exploitation every month. Data from the International Justice Mission- Philippines shows that 80 percent of cybersex exploitation victims are minors, many of whom are 12 years old or younger.
