Ex-U.S. serviceman pleads guilty to sex-trafficking PH children

A former U.S. Army staff sergeant stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington to sex trafficking children between 2018 and 2019 in the Philippines.

Moeun Yoeun, 39, who was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of child sex crimes, admitted Aug. 30, to procuring adults and children to produce pornography, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington. Yoeun also admitted going to Manila to engage in sexual acts with at least 6 children.

To be sentenced Dec. 5, he faces 15 years to life in prison, according to the release. Yoeun must register as a sex offender and could face federal supervision for his the rest of his life, upon release from prison.

Moeun Yoeun. TWITTER

Records state Yoeun had in the past threatened to kill one of the people he was meeting with, a 13-year-old girl, if she did not have sex with him. Yoeun also had been charged with aggravated sexual abuse of a child under 12 and possession of child pornography, according to court records. Those charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement, reported the News Tribune.