May 4, 2007
Notorious child molester hid in Suzhou
We almost choked on our Earl Grey Tea last night when we learned that an alleged child molester, rapist and pornographer had been hiding out in Suzhou. Kenneth J. Freeman, bodybuilder, computer expert and a former Sheriff's deputy from Washington State, fled the US last year when released on bail for three charges of child rape.
The 13-month global manhunt involving US, Turkish, Greek and Chinese authorities concluded yesterday when Hong Kong police apprehended Freeman in Hong Kong.
Chinese police arrested him Tuesday night at a land checkpoint in Hong Kong after he arrived there from mainland China, a Hong Kong police spokeswoman said. Speaking on customary condition of anonymity, the spokeswoman added that the arrested man resisted, slightly injuring four officers. She refused to say whether he was injured during the arrest.
An official news release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement department puts more of Freeman's China time in context:
Beijing was able to confirm through Chinese authorities that Freeman was in the People's Republic of China. Although no extradition treaty exists between the People's Republic of China and the United States, Chinese authorities agreed to assist in the investigation. A provisional arrest warrant was obtained in Hong Kong, where an extradition treaty still exists with the United States. Last month, ICE officials at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing learned of Freeman's intent to travel to Hong Kong in early May. Upon entry into Hong Kong, Freeman was arrested by Hong Kong law enforcement officers and is now facing extradition proceedings for removal to the United States.
Shanghaiist's research didn't uncover much information about the time Freeman spent in Suzhou. NWCN.com had this little tid-bit of information:
Investigators tracked him down in Suzhou, a city in China, where he is believed to have been working at the local office of a U.S.-based company.
While writing this piece, there are an awful collection of questions popping into our mind. Beyond how this human perpetrated his alleged crimes and then managed to flee the U.S., how did he enter China, get the right visas, get hired by a US-company, and most chillingly, what did he do while he lived in China over the past few months?
A respondent on this Digital Journal entry really isolates the loudest voice in the cacophony of concerns in our mind.
Makes you wonder just how many children he hurt while in China.
Do any Suzhou-based readers of Shanghaiist have any information to add to this story?
Picture of Kenneth J. Freeman taken from United States Marshals Service website.
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Places like China are favorite destinations for western criminals, but many leave before any pre-trial hearings take place or warrants are issued.
China can keep this guy, he should be good at slave labor.
Good move by China to let him go (with the help of the US) to Hong Kong and get him. It was easier (for China and the US) to do it this way. NOW HE CAN BE SENT TO THE US WITH LESS RED TAPE
GOOD: He was arrested.
BAD: He was in Suzhou????
On another note... NanheyangWHO WHO explain to all of us who are you. I don't need to know your real name.
I just want to know, just like everyone else, what is your problem with China and why do you think you are justified to rant and diss China at every chance you get.
CJ
Jim Nicholson
Hometown: Chicago
Lived in Shanghai: 19 years
White guy
Now it is your turn. EXPLAIN PLEASE.
I dare you to come out. I DARE YOU!!!!
I've often wondered how many predators make their way from the West to the less-sensitive-of-such-things East to work with kids here... I never imagined that this creep would be wandering around my backyard.
I'm not hugely active in the social scene, but I never saw this guy around expat circles.
I saw this guy at the Melrose Pizza at the Science & Technology Museum about a month ago. It's fairly unusual to see Americans there, and even rarer to see handsome, hunky ones. He was with an adult woman, and he was talking about buying fake clothes. Mostly I was admiring his massive and muscular thighs and wondering how he could find clothes that fit here.
CJ, nanheyangrouchuan is an uighur. Nothing wrong with being a uighur, but he happens to be smelly and has a few mental issues, evident by his large # of comments at many web sites.
He stinks up the air and the internet.
This guy worked out along side me at powerhouse gym, which is f-ing crazy. He also was dating a a female who is an aquantance of mine. I can't even fathom what is going on in her mind right now. This absolutely sucks for Americans living in Suzhou! I will keep you informed if there is any backlash towards Americans living here. It's so strange, because there is a large expat community here, but one that still has a small town feel to it. So this dude was not easy to miss. He was huge.
A respondent on Digital Journal: "Makes you wonder just how many children he hurt while in China."
suzhou shanghaiist: "This absolutely sucks for Americans living in Suzhou!"
Comparing the human response (first) and the suburban American housewife response (second), it makes you wonder how chillingly selfish some expats can be. Makes me ashamed of being an expat, myself.
CJ I think you will find that its not just nanheyangrouchuan who rants and disses China at every chance they get, quite a lot of commentators here do it also. Makes me wonder why they stick around if they hate the country/people/culture/everything Chinese related so much.
CJ:
With all of that pent up hostility it seems you are the one who needs to "come out".
Don't hate yourself, be yourself.
This follow-up piece is from the Seattle Times...
More on their website...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003695405_freeman06.html?syndication=rss
from Shanghai
Just ignore yangRouGrouch when he goes on these tirades. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
//A respondent on Digital Journal: "Makes you wonder just how many children he hurt while in China."
suzhou shanghaiist: "This absolutely sucks for Americans living in Suzhou!"
Comparing the human response (first) and the suburban American housewife response (second), it makes you wonder how chillingly selfish some expats can be. Makes me ashamed of being an expat, myself.//
Sorry Orpheus, while I know what you are saying, the reality is that if it were a Chinese person committing something like this and getting picked up in a small town in the US, other Chinese in the town WOULD expereince a backlash. this is not an unreasonable concern. I wold be concerned about that at this point more that what has already happened, though if bad things indeed happened in Suzhou, my concern about me and my family's safety would grow even more. Call it selfish but that's reality.