Bogota child abuser viral video: How woman's bravery led to US predator's arrest
The viral video showed the woman screaming at the man at the top of her voice which resulted in more people realising what was going on at the balcony of the apartment
A US citizen, reportedly a 35-year-old from Texas, was arrested in Bogotá, Colombia, after being accused of attempting to abuse a minor, an incident that gained significant global attention due to viral videos. The man was spotted by a local woman on an apartment balcony in the Chicó Navarra neighborhood with a child, and her subsequent alarm drew a crowd and alerted authorities. Police, who were unable to independently verify the video's authenticity, found three children aged 4, 7, and 15 inside the Airbnb-rented apartment and have placed them under the protection of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare. After a three-hour standoff to ensure his safety from the agitated crowd, the man was handed over to the Prosecutor's Office, where he is expected to face charges of aggravated sexual assault of a minor under 14, having entered Colombia as a tourist on June 6.
A US citizen, reportedly a 35-year-old from Texas, was arrested in Bogotá, Colombia, after being accused of attempting to abuse a minor, an incident that gained significant global attention due to viral videos. The man was spotted by a local woman on an apartment balcony in the Chicó Navarra neighborhood with a child, and her subsequent alarm drew a crowd and alerted authorities. Police, who were unable to independently verify the video's authenticity, found three children aged 4, 7, and 15 inside the Airbnb-rented apartment and have placed them under the protection of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare. After a three-hour standoff to ensure his safety from the agitated crowd, the man was handed over to the Prosecutor's Office, where he is expected to face charges of aggravated sexual assault of a minor under 14, having entered Colombia as a tourist on June 6.
A US citizen, reportedly a 35-year-old from Texas, was arrested in Bogotá, Colombia, after being accused of attempting to abuse a minor, an incident that gained significant global attention due to viral videos. The man was spotted by a local woman on an apartment balcony in the Chicó Navarra neighborhood with a child, and her subsequent alarm drew a crowd and alerted authorities. Police, who were unable to independently verify the video's authenticity, found three children aged 4, 7, and 15 inside the Airbnb-rented apartment and have placed them under the protection of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare. After a three-hour standoff to ensure his safety from the agitated crowd, the man was handed over to the Prosecutor's Office, where he is expected to face charges of aggravated sexual assault of a minor under 14, having entered Colombia as a tourist on June 6.
A US citizen was arrested in Colombia's Bogota for allegedly trying to abuse a minor. The incident created a global uproar after videos of a pedestrian calling out the accused's actions went viral.
The video was reportedly shot in the Chicó Navarra neighbourhood of the Usaquén district. According to available information, a local woman was on a stroll when she spotted the man with a child on the balcony of one of the residential apartments. To her horror, she realised that the man was not playing with the minor boy, as it looked from afar. She started screaming to alert more locals, who kept gathering at the spot until the police arrived.
THE WEEK could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Including the boy found on the balcony, law and order personnel found three children, aged 4, 7 and 15, inside the apartment. The Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) reportedly confirmed that the kids are now under its protection.
The man, reportedly a 35-year-old from Texas, had rented the apartment via Airbnb. As per the viral video, he did not panic after being spotted and went inside the apartment.
Understanding that locals were furious at the man and might turn violent, the police called in an anti-riot squad to safely extract the man after three hours.
He was later handed over to the Prosecutor's Office, where he is expected to face charges of aggravated sexual assault of a minor under 14 years of age, Arab Times Online said in a report.
The report added that, as per the Colombian Migration authorities, the man entered the country on June 6 through Bogotá's El Dorado International Airport as a tourist.