US diplomat charged for sex with Filipina minor

A 61-year-old American diplomat has been charged in the United States with having sex with a Filipino minor and possessing child pornography while stationed in the Philippines.

Dean Cheves, who served at the US Embassy in Manila from September 2020 to February 2021, faces up to 30 years in prison for “engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place, and up to 10 years in prison for possessing child pornography if convicted.

Cheves was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia, the US Department of Justice said in a statement on Aug. 3.

According to the indictment, Cheves met the 16-year-old online and engaged in sexual activity with the minor on two occasions. He allegedly took cell-phone videos of himself on both occasions.

The sex videos were found on Cheves’ devices seized from his embassy residence while in the Philippines.

The US diplomat was also charged with possessing child pornography between February and March this year.

The US Department of State diplomatic security service is also investigating the case.