US child rape fugitive to be extradited from Hong Kong

Sep 10, 2007, 6:23 GMT

Hong Kong - A fugitive former US law enforcement officer accused of raping his 12-year-old daughter and circulating a video of the attack Monday agreed to be extradited home from Hong Kong.

Body-builder and former policeman Kenneth John Freeman, 45, faces a maximum life sentence if convicted of the rape which he is alleged to have filmed and posted on the internet.

The video of the rape was one of the most widely downloaded pieces of child pornography in the US for years and Freeman's daughter, now aged 17, went on TV to describe her ordeal.

Freeman fled from Washington state two years ago following his release on bail and is believed to have taken up a job with a US-based company in eastern China.

He was one of the US's 15 most-wanted fugitives until his arrest in May as he attempted to cross from mainland China into Hong Kong while he was under covert surveillance.

Police were tipped off that he planned to visit Hong Kong and he was arrested at a land border crossing, putting up a struggle that resulted in four policemen suffering minor injuries.

Following his arrest, Freeman appeared in court in chains and heavily guarded, saying at initial hearings that he would contest his extradition to the US.

However, at Monday's hearing in Hong Kong's Eastern Court, Freeman's lawyer indicated that his client was now prepared to be extradited and tried in the US.

If his extradition is approved by Hong Kong's Chief Executive Donald Tsang, Freeman will be flown home to face charges of child rape and distributing child pornography.

Speaking outside court, Freeman's lawyer Giles Surman said his client decided o agree to his extradition once a request for the press to be excluded from Monday's hearing was rejected.

Surman said: 'He maintains his innocence to all of the charges he is facing. It is simply that we did not want a lot of the material that will or may be presented against him in court in the US rehearsed here where we don't have the benefit of questioning live witnesses.

'As you heard Mr Freeman say in court, it is therefore in his best interests to consent to his extradition.'