Russ Albert Medlin, the U.S. citizen who entered Indonesia with a tourist visa back in 2019, was caught in Jakarta after three teenage girls alleged that he paid to have sex with them.
Convicted under Indonesia's child protection laws, Medlin that is arrested on sex charges on minors, the police said, adding that they have confiscated more than $20,000 in cash from the suspect.
"After the arrest, we checked his identity," said Yusri Yunus from Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police's public relations department. And this was when the authorities found that Medlin was actually a fugitive sought by the Interpol.
Based on the organization's Red Notice, Medlin was wanted in the U.S. by the FBI. as well as other foreign law enforcement agencies.
First, Medlin was already listed as a "non compliant" tier-two pedophile sex offender.
As a child molester with charges of sexual assault on minors, Medlin had been convicted for the crime twice, in 2006 and 2008, the latter of which saw him serve two years in prison for the statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl, and possession of child pornography.
And second, he is also known as an criminal wanted in connection with a $700 million Bitcoin mining scam.
Prosecutors in the U.S. alleged Medlin as the co-founder of BitClub Network, which took money from investors in a "high-tech Ponzi scheme" from April 2014 through December 2019.
During that time, BitcoinClub Network disguised itself as a Bitcoin mining platform to appeal investors to make them invest, refer, or sponsor new members in order to receive revenue returns.
The scam was because BitcoinClub Network never fulfilled its promises, even after block rewards were realized by the firm. And when participating users requested for their earnings, they were slammed with exorbitant fee charges.
The Jakarta Metro Police’s Cyber Crimes Directorate arrested Medlin in Jalan Brawijaya, Kebayoran Baru, which is one of Jakarta's most expensive residential districts.
At first, the authorities acted based on an information from neighbors who saw that Medlin's resident had frequent visits from young girls, who they thought were prostitutes.
This was realized to be true, when the officers intercepted and questioned three women - two of whom were underage - who had just left Medlin’s residence. The three women confessed to the police that they were involved in a child prostitution ring, with Medlin being one of their regular clients.
"The officers intercepted and questioned three underage women, around 15 to 17 years old. They admitted the owner of the house had hired them to have sex with him," Yusri said.
"Medlin usually pays Rp 2 million ($142) for the girls. Every time he asked to be photographed and videotaped," Yusri added.
Arresting Medlin, the Jakarta Metro Police charged the 49-year-old man with sexual acts with minors.
Under The Law on Children Protection introduced in the country in 2014, Medlin could face 15 years in prison.
At the time of his arrest, there is no official extradition treaty between the U.S. and Indonesia. Also, it was not immediately clear if the U.S. authorities would seek Medlin's extradition in the cryptocurrrency case.
In the meantime, Medlin who is in possession of a tourist visa is also under investigation for how he managed to get past Indonesia's immigration after being placed on an Interpol Red Notice. The police is also after the suspected procurer who helped Medlin.
"We are still waiting for a request from the U.S. Embassy," said Jakarta Police's director of special crime investigation Roma Hutajulu.
"We will continue to process [Russ Albert Medlin]. in accordance with the law in Indonesia while waiting for an extradition request from the American Embassy, which has been communicating with us through the FBI's legal attaché."
