BI to deport Norwegian on sex abuse of own daughters

A Norwegian national wanted for allegedly sexually abusing his two teenage daughters was arrested in the Philippines and is now facing deportation, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Wednesday. The 61-year-old suspect, who was arrested in Makati City last Feb. 15, is currently detained at the BI detention facility in Bicutan, Taguig. He will be deported as soon as his papers are processed. “The Nordic Police reportedly sought [the suspect’s] arrest and the Norwegian embassy informed the bureau that it had canceled his passport, making him both an undesirable and undocumented alien," said BI Commissioner Ronaldo Ledesma. GMA News Online is withholding the identity of the suspect due to the sensitivity of the case. According to Ledesma, the suspect was arrested while he was about to enter the Norwegian Embassy at the Petron Megaplaza Bldg. along Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City. He said the Norwegian was arrested on the strength of a warrant pursuant to a deportation order that the BI board of commissioners issued against the suspect last Dec. 29. The suspect would be deported once the bureau receives the airline ticket from Nordic authorities and accommodation arrangements for BI intelligence chief Faisal Hussin, who will accompany the suspect back to Norway for a trial, Ledesma said. Hussin said the Norwegian was the subject of an Interpol red notice after an arrest warrant was issued against him by a district court in Follo, Norway. BI Interpol Unit head Floro Balato Jr. said the fugitive allegedly sexually abused his two daughters on several occasions from June 2005 to March 2009. “Norwegian authorities later traced [his] whereabouts to the Philippines upon learning that he had married a Filipina from Butuan City," Balato said. - KBK/VS, GMA News