4 American sex offenders barred from entering PH

The Bureau of Immigration prevented the entry of four American sex offenders into the Philippines from mid-September to early October.

According to a statement on Wednesday, the BI first intercepted 70-year-old Terry Christ Petersen at NAIA Terminal 3 on September 13.

He was said to have been convicted of second-degree sexual assault on a 12-year-old child.

Richard Allison Boice, 71, was barred from entry at Terminal 1 on September 19 as he was convicted of possession of child pornography in 2009, while 56-year-old Kevin James Bearden, who was found guilty in 2021 of two counts of child pornography, was intercepted at Terminal 3 on September 24.

Rodney Wendell Mathis, 59, arrived at Terminal 3 on October 3 but was denied entry as he was convicted in 1997 for engaging in lewd and lascivious acts against a 16-year-old.

Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the four men were immediately sent back to their points of origin, placed on the BI blacklist, and banned from reentering the Philippines.

“They were turned back pursuant to our immigration law, which provides for the outright exclusion of foreigners who have been convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude,'' Viado said. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News