In a statement, the Seattle division of the FBI said the 38-year-old fugitive, Scott Barry Uchida, was arrested ‘without incident’ by the local police in Kepong on April 21, and has since been deported. — iStock.com pic via AFP
KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — A man wanted in the US for various sexual crimes involving minors has been arrested in Malaysia, after being located by the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In a statement, the Seattle division of the FBI said the 38-year-old fugitive, Scott Barry Uchida, was arrested “without incident” by the local police in Kepong here on April 21, and has since been deported.
“Uchida is wanted for second degree rape, second degree rape of a child, promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor, and third degree rape of a child in King County,” read the statement.
According to the Seattle FBI, court documents allege that in January 2018, the Kirkland Police Department had opened an investigation into the “commercial sexual exploitation, rape and unlawful imprisonement” of three juvenile victims between 2015 and January 2018.
One of the victims, a 15-year-old, had reported to a Kirkland Police Department school resource officer that two men had raped her, forced her into sex work, and made her recruit others.
Uchida, who was determined to be one of the men, allegedly met the victim through the social media application meetme.com when she was just 12, and took her to a Seattle apartment where he threatened violence against her and her family members, and held her against her will.
In March 2021, the Kirkland Police Department requested the Seattle FBI’s assistance in locating Uchida, who was thought to have fled the country.
The Seattle FBI thanked the Malaysian police, Immigration Department and the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur for coordinating Uchida’s deportation to the US so he can face his charges in King County.
“Thanks to successful international partnerships and the FBI’s global reach, fugitives from justice can find few places to hide,” said Donald M. Voiret, the FBI special agent in charge of locating Uchida.