Molestation suspect captured

Thu., Feb. 16, 2006

From Staff Reports The Spokesman-Review

The FBI announced Wednesday that it has captured a man in the Kingdom of Tonga after he fled child molestation charges in Spokane and Stevens County two years ago.

David Frederick Achtemeier, 39, was charged with four counts of child rape and three counts of child molestation. Achtemeier, who was wounded as a medic in the Persian Gulf in 1991, fled Spokane in 2004 after charges were filed, said Laura M. Laughlin, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle Division.

The FBI obtained a warrant charging Achtemeier with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution on July 6, 2005. The Spokane office of the FBI began searching for Achtemeier, and he was eventually located in the Kingdom of Tonga, located in the South Pacific between Hawaii and New Zealand.

Last Thursday, Achtemeier was escorted by Tongan authorities to Los Angeles. He will be extradited to Spokane soon to face the local charges, Laughlin said in a press release.

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