MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport barred another American convicted of sex crimes in the United States from entering the Philippines.
The bureau said Thursday that its Border Control and Enforcement Unit intercepted Terry Lynn Spies, 60, upon his arrival aboard an Eva Air flight from Taiwan on November 3. He was sent back to the United States the following day.
Spies was among the 140 foreigners who had been denied entry to the country due to his conviction on sex crimes.
Citing information provided by the US Department of Homeland Security, the Interpol’s National Central Bureau in Manila said that a court in Texas had convicted Spies for engaging in online solicitation of a minor in November 2012.
He allegedly enticed a 14-year-old girl to meet him for “indecent purposes via telecommunications,” violatingTexas’ penal code.
“As gatekeepers of the country we are duty-bound as immigration officers to prevent the entry of aliens whose presence here poses a serious risk to our women and children,” Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said. — Gaea Katreena Cabico