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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Child rape suspect in custody

Shannon Dininny Associated Press

KENNEWICK – A man accused of raping his own daughter has been arrested in Hong Kong, ending a manhunt that began after the girl’s decision to tell her story on national TV helped connect the case to some of the Internet’s most notorious molestation videos.

Police apprehended Kenneth John Freeman, 44, at the Hong Kong airport Tuesday night after he arrived there from mainland China. Officials said the avid bodybuilder injured four Chinese police officers while resisting arrest, but they did not release details or say whether Freeman also was hurt.

Freeman was living in Seattle when he fled the United States last year, months after his daughter told her mother he had assaulted her four years earlier. He was on the most-wanted lists of the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The girl appeared on the TV show “America’s Most Wanted” to talk about the case. Tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after the show aired helped the center identify the girl as the victim in a series of child pornography videos, according to the Marshals Service. Video of the abuse is among the most widely downloaded child pornography videos in recent years, officials said.

Chris Peale, the girl’s stepfather, said at a news conference in Kennewick that she deserves the most credit.

“We’re rejoicing today. An awful man, an evil man has been captured,” Peale said, glancing at his now-17-year-old stepdaughter, who smiled during the event but did not speak.

“Without her strength and conviction, this would never have happened,” Peale said. “She stood up in front of America and said what had happened to her, and that’s an admirable thing.”

Authorities in Turkey, Greece and China helped U.S. officials track Freeman.

Investigators tracked Freeman to Suzhou, China, where he is believed to have been working at the local office of a U.S.-based company.

The U.S. does not have an extradition agreement with the Chinese government to return fugitives to their native nations. However, such a treaty does exist between the U.S. and Hong Kong. In the past several weeks, investigators discovered Freeman was planning to travel to Hong Kong, where he was arrested on his arrival at the airport, officials said.

Freeman has been charged in Benton County Superior Court with three counts of rape of a child and jumping bail. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Freeman also faces federal charges of producing and distributing child pornography.