NEED TO KNOW
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Young Tom Talmadge, 69, was arrested in the Philippines after DNA evidence linked him to a 1989 Florida case
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U.S. law enforcement agencies used genealogical research and preserved DNA to identify Talmadge decades after the alleged crime
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Talmadge’s arrest is part of the Philippines’ #ShieldKids campaign, initiated to protect children from foreign sex offenders
A man has been arrested in the Philippines nearly 40 years after allegedly abducting and raping a 7-year-old girl in Tampa, Florida.
The 13th Judicial Circuit Court of Hillsborough County, Florida, issued a warrant for 69-year-old Young Tom Talmadge’s arrest in March 2025, according to a press release from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) of the Philippines and online records viewed by PEOPLE.
Talmadge was allegedly at a bowling alley in 1989 when he gave the young girl coins to play arcade games and then lured her to his vehicle, where he is accused of sexually battering her, FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported.
After the alleged attack, police say Talmadge dropped her off at a second bowling alley, where she was later found.
The Philippines BI said that a suspect remained unidentified until a recent breakthrough by U.S. law enforcement, which used genealogical research and preserved DNA evidence to link Talmadge to the crime.
An alleged match between Talmadge and the DNA evidence was confirmed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
The BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) apprehended Talmadge on April 23 at his home in Cavite, Philippines, after receiving information about the case from U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Talmadge faces charges of sexual battery on a victim less than 12 years old by an adult, lewd and lascivious acts on a child, and kidnapping to commit a felony on a child, according to the press release and online records.
The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office told Fox 13 Tampa Bay that Talmadge has yet to be extradited to the U.S.
His arrest was part of the BI’s #ShieldKids campaign, which the agency says is intended to protect children from foreign sex offenders.
“We will continue to work closely with international counterparts to protect Filipino children and uphold justice,” Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said. “Foreign fugitives who commit crimes against children will find no refuge here.”
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PEOPLE has reached out to the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office for comment.
Read the original article on People
