U.S. Foreign Service Member Indicted for Engaging in Illicit Sexual Conduct While in Philippines

According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release dated August 3, 2021, a member of the U.S. foreign service, Dean Cheves, 61, was indicted for engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and possession of child pornography.

According to the indictment, while serving at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines between September 2020 and February 2021, Cheves allegedly met a 16-year old online and knowingly engaging in sexual activity with the minor. Cheves allegedly produced videos on his cell phone of him committing these crimes, which were recovered by authorities from his embassy residence in the Philippines.

Between February 2021 and March 2021, he also allegedly possessed child pornography.

Cheves is charged with one count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and one count of possessing child pornography in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or on lands owned or leased by the United States. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison on count one, and up to 10 years in prison on count two.

This case was brought to court as a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood pools together federal, state, and local resources to prosecute individuals who exploit children and to rescue victims of abuse.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.