June 18, 2009
Mississippi man charged in ICE probe with having sex with minors in Thailand
and Cambodia
LOS ANGELES - A 63-year-old retired engineer from Mississippi made his
initial appearance in federal court here late yesterday afternoon on charges
stemming from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) into allegations he engaged in illicit sexual conduct with underage
girls in Thailand and Cambodia.
Curtis David Fahlberg, of Pascagoula, Miss., was taken into custody by ICE
agents June 12 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) following his
deportation from Thailand. Fahlberg, accompanied by ICE agents, was returned
from Thailand to face charges detailed in a criminal complaint filed last
month that he engaged in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. The
violation carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison. The case
is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District
of California.
Fahlberg was arrested June 9 at his residence in Pattaya City, Thailand, by
Thai immigration authorities and placed in deportation proceedings. At
yesterday's hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer T. Lum ordered Fahlberg
detained pending trial.
ICE's probe into Fahlberg's activities began in June 2006 after officers
with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at LAX questioned him
following his return from a trip to Thailand. A preliminary examination by
CBP of two laptop computers and a cell phone Fahlberg had in his possession
revealed images of children in various stages of undress. A subsequent
forensic analysis by ICE of those media uncovered more sexually explicit
images of children as well as numerous emails written by Fahlberg detailing
his sexual exploitation of children in Thailand and Cambodia.
The affidavit filed in connection with the criminal complaint describes the
defendant's alleged sexual activities with several underage girls, the
youngest of whom told investigators she was in second grade when the
defendant began photographing her in the nude. According to the affidavit,
several of the girls Fahlberg had sexual encounters with were child
prostitutes who worked in the Cambodian village of Svay Pak outside Phnom
Pehn. In an email recovered from Fahlberg's computer, he wrote,"I don't
worry how old a girl is if I like her."
"The charges against this defendant are a direct result of the extraordinary
cooperation we received from Thai and Cambodian law enforcement," said
Robert Schoch, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations
in Los Angeles. "Some pedophiles mistakenly believe they can escape
detection and prosecution by committing child sex crimes overseas. We are
putting pedophiles on notice that ICE and its law enforcement partners here
and abroad stand ready to pursue and prosecute those who sexually exploit
children."
"The exploitation of children is among the most heinous of crimes," said
Director of Field Operations Kevin Weeks. "CBP will remain vigilant in our
efforts to secure our borders - and our communities - by working diligently
to enforce laws involving crimes against children."
The probe into Fahlberg's activities was conducted by ICE's Office of
Investigations in Los Angeles and the agency's attaché office in Bangkok.
ICE worked closely on the case with the Department of State's Diplomatic
Security Service, the Cambodian National Police and the Royal Thai Police.
ICE also received substantial assistance from Hagar International and World
Vision, two non-governmental organizations involved in the effort to aid
Cambodian child sex tourism victims.
Fahlberg is being prosecuted under the provisions of the PROTECT Act. The
PROTECT Act, which went into effect six years ago, substantially
strengthened federal laws against predatory crimes involving children
outside the United States by adding new crimes and increasing the penalties
for these charges.
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