IN-FLIGHT MONSTER
Feds say pilot may have had 50 child sex victims around the globe >>
TRENTON » Sexpat pilot Frank Maile may have victimized as many as 50 underage girls and boys in several countries over the years, the feds said.
The shocking accusation was made public in court records challenging a judge’s decision to let the retired U.S. Air Force pilot out on bail with conditions while he awaits trial on a child sex abuse charge carrying a mandatory minimum of 15 years in the slammer, the feds said.
Maile, 62, expected to post bail and meet all the conditions by Monday but his release was put on hold for a day while federal prosecutors argued their revocation motion Tuesday. A judge paved the way for Maile to post $500,000 bail and comply with several restrictive conditions that include house arrest in Mercer County, his attorney Jerome Ballarotto said.
In the new filing, prosecutors recounted sordid details of a twisted tape of two sisters in the Philippines performing sex acts on each other, some with a dildo. One of the sisters was allegedly captured performing oral sex on a white man believed to be Maile, who arranged the revolting meetup through a Pilipino pimp with whom he repeatedly relayed sick tot fantasies.
The pilot allegedly asked for videos of one of the victims at 10 years old, demanded she take birth control pills because he was worried about her getting pregnant and told the pimp he wanted to “f--k her in her school dress next time.”
The feds believe the globetrotting pilot had sexual encounters with the sisters until November 2017 and met minors for sex in other countries besides the Philippines, a top destination for predators as the country has been wracked by sex trafficking.
The country’s age of consent is 12 years old, but the U.S. has sexual tourism laws making it a crime for Americans to travel overseas to take advantage of that. Federal prosecutors believe they have “extraterritorial jurisidction” in these cases.
“It’s hard to defend his conduct,” Ballarotto acknowledged. “I don’t have any interest in a 13-year-old. I don’t have any interest in an 18-year-old at my age. But, you know, it’s interesting. The United States thinks it can impose its standard on the rest of the world.”
The pilot, who openly posted pictures with younglooking females on his Facebook page, allegedly visited Bahrain, Germany, Japan, Korea, China, the United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg between October and April of this year.
The feds found a handwritten note with a name, the words “friend Indonesian small girl” and a telephone number tucked into a passport from when Maile took a commercial flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai, according to court papers.
Ballarotto defended against the government’s claims by saying that just because photos that may appear on his client’s phone “appear to be of very, very young females that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the age they appear,” alluding to the industry of “fetish porn.”
Calling the evidence “very strong,” the feds painted Maile as a man of means, with more than a half-million in cash in the bank and his own plane he could use to abscond to the Philippines — where he has legal status, a longtime girlfriend and a home in Angeles City.
The feds unearthed thousands of Maile’s chat messages from as far back as 2013 that helped them identify “approximately 50 unique victims” on electronics seized when the pilot’s New Egypt home was searched earlier this month.
Authorities seized a Macbook Pro, two iPhones and an iPad that turned up more overseas kiddie-porn videos and photos, some shared with two unnamed pilots whom Maile chatted with about explicit excursions abroad, the feds said.
The feds found videos from Dec. 2 and Dec. 3, 2015 of the sisters sitting naked on a bed engaged in graphic sex acts with each other, according to court papers. The feds believe a white man who appears and removes a dildo from the victim is the pilot.
Maile’s overseas trafficker allegedly had one sister chat with him in December 2014 on her 10th birthday, parts of the exchange which were cited in court papers.
Maile allegedly wrote to the pimp: “She can f--k now?” The pimp responded, “Yes, only in the a--.”
Other conversations showed Maile growing “impatient” in pursuit of the underage girl, the feds said, allegedly asking the pimp, “What are you waiting for? She 10+ years already.”
The pimp told Maile to “be patient,” the feds said, to which the pilot responded, “I have been.”
Maile wanted one of the girls to wear ponytails because it made her look younger. He was depicted in another video showering with a naked 2-year-old, the feds said, adding they found “headto-toe” shots of the toddler.
Maile allegedly installed a spy camera in a hotel room to create sex tapes and had a “keystroke logger” so he could monitor what his girlfriend was typing on her computer, prosecutors said, pointing out his “degree of technological sophistication” and the $600,000 he reported having in the bank made him a flight risk and “danger to the community.”
Maile paid off his New Egypt home where he lived with two adults and an 8-yearold and took in another quarter of a million dollars as a cargo pilot as well as his Air Force pension.
The pilot was trying to buy property in Florida, the feds said, before he got popped on the child porn charge which he hasn’t been indicted on.
The feds fear Maile would flee to the Philippines where he has legal status under a special resident retiree’s visa. He also listed a residence there on tax forms.
Maile expects to be freed this week, his attorney said, after agreeing to conditions requiring him to find an apartment in Mercer County where he’ll be on house arrest and be subjected to random checks from court officials. He also agreed to remain grounded, giving up his passport, pilot’s license and keys to his plane.
“He’s not going anywhere,” Ballarotto said. “He’s staying to fight these charges.”