DFA wants US diplomat extradited

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will seek the extradition of a former United States diplomat indicted by a Virginia court for engaging in sexual activity with a minor in the Philippines.

DFA Assistant Secretary for strategic communications Eduardo Meñez said if a committee, headed by the Department of Justice, determines the offense to be extraditable and in favor of the victim, the DFA would request the extradition of Dean Cheves, 61, who served as a member of the Foreign Service at the US embassy in Manila from September 2020 to February this year.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia returned an indictment on Aug. 3, charging Cheves for engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and possession of child pornography.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said they would work on the extradition of Cheves if there are no legal impediments so the US diplomat could face charges of child abuse.