An American wanted in his home country for allegedly sexually abusing a 9 year old girl has been arrested in Phuket. The Phuket Express reports that immigration police arrested the 30 year old, named only as “Mr Mayes”, at a property in Rawai last Sunday.
The alleged sexual abuse is understood to have happened outside of Thailand. The man was arrested after the International Criminal Investigation Unit of the US embassy in Bangkok told Thai immigration officials that the American was a wanted man. A subsequent investigation found that he had moved to Phuket and was living in Rawai.
Mayes is accused of sexually abusing the 9 year old child “many times” before fleeing to Thailand. Some media outlets have stated that the girl in question is actually his daughter. However, this has not been confirmed by the authorities.
It’s understood that Mayes entered the kingdom on a 30-day tourist visa on July 29, 2022. At the time of his arrest, he was on a Non-Ed visa, which has now been revoked. He is expected to be handed over to the US authorities to face charges in his home country.
SOURCE: The Phuket Express
