American pedophile caught at Bureau of Immigration

MANILA, Philippines - Operatives of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) did not have to launch an extensive search to catch a convicted American pedophile living in the country; the fugitive personally went to their office to apply for an extension of his tourist visa.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan, in a statement, said a BI employee alerted their agents after checking their records and finding out that schoolteacher Mark Joseph McDowell, 58, had been on BI watchlist since Jan. 15, when the US Embassy sought their help to locate him.

“We were alerted about his entry in the Philippines and warned that he might victimize Filipino children while he is here,” Libanan said.

Initial information reaching the BI showed McDowell was convicted of child molestation in the US and sentenced to three years in prison.

He was granted parole after six months. He reportedly decided to fly to Korea and stayed there for 12 years, working as a schoolteacher.

In Korea, he allegedly abused a 12-year-old boy, who filed a complaint against him. To avoid prosecution and imprisonment, he voluntarily left the country and traveled to the Philippines last Jan. 13. – Evelyn Macairan