Fil-Am fugitive nabbed in La Union

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – A Filipino-American facing 25 years of imprisonment for sexually assaulting two minors in the State of Hawaii two years ago was arrested in Barangay Sevilla here over the weekend.

The suspect, Reynaldo Estillore, currently residing in Bauang town, did not resist arrest when he was accosted by operatives of the Regional Intelligence Office led by Superintendent Ferdinand Divina, the La Union police intelligence division headed by Superintendent Sterling Raymond Blanco and agents of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation.

Estillore matched with the photos and documents presented by the arresting team, who conducted a month-long surveillance against him.

He was charged at a Hawaii court with 46 counts of 1st and 3rd degrees of sexual assaults against two minors but he escaped prosecution by hiding in the Philippines.

Blanco told The STAR that on Oct. 4, the US Embassy, through  Stephen Cutler, the Embassy’s legal attaché, requested the Directorate for Intelligence in Camp Crame to locate and arrest Estillore based on a warrant of arrest issued by a Hawaiian court.

Blanco said that Estillore will be deported to Hawaii, where his family is presently residing, to face the charges against him.

US court records showed that first degree sexual assault to minors carries a maximum of 20 years imprisonment while third degree assault carries more than five years in jail.   – Jun Elias