The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said its officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) foiled a second attempt by an American sex offender to illegally enter the country by assuming a different name and identity.
In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the passenger as 59-year-old Kent Thomas Kuszajewski who arrived at the NAIA terminal 1 last June 12 aboard a Philippine Airlines flight from Ho Chih Minh, Vietnam.
Tansingco said the American presented to the BI officer a US passport under the name Blade Tyler but the same yielded a positive hit in the BI derogatory list which prompted the immigration supervisors on duty to deny his entry and order his return to his port of origin.
Tansingco bared that Kuszajewski, who was arrested and deported by the BI in 2015 for being a registered sex offender (RSO), also attempted to re-enter the country via the Mactan airport in June 2021 but was also excluded due to his inclusion in the BI’s blacklist of undesirable aliens. He was then found to be using the name Alex Stevens.
“We received information that he has been using two other US passports and aliases to conceal his real identity and used it as a ploy to gain entry into countries where he travels,” the BI chief said.
He added that under the immigration act foreigners convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude are subject to outright exclusion upon arriving in the country.
Kuszajewski was immediately booked and boarded the on the first available return flight to Vietnam following his exclusion.
Records showed that Kuszajewski was previously arrested in Bacolod City in February 2015 after being tagged as a fugitive for violating the terms of his probation.
Prior to his arrest he hid in the country for eight years to evade serving his sentence for the crime of third degree sexual conduct.
He had served four years in prison and was released on probation but he violated the conditions of his parole by fleeing the US.
“We are deeply concerned about his activities in the Philippines given his criminal record,” said Tansingco. “His repeated attempts to return using different aliases show his criminal intent,” he added.
