KEMPER COUNTY – A Kemper County investigation into allegations of sexual battery involving a mentally incapacitated adult ultimately led to the arrest of a 62-year-old man in the Philippines, according to the Kemper County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators opened the case July 13 involving John Raymond Fenty.
As the investigation progressed, authorities obtained search warrants for two residences associated with Fenty.
On Sept. 5, the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team, assisted by the Kemper County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team, executed a search warrant at a residence on York Road in Lauderdale County.
Later that day, Kemper County deputies executed a second search warrant at a residence on Rossie Coats Road in Kemper County.
Authorities said investigators seized a significant amount of digital evidence, which was submitted to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office for forensic examination.
Investigators later learned that Fenty had left the United States and traveled to the Philippines before the search warrants were executed.
The sheriff’s office said the investigation then expanded to include federal and international law enforcement partners.
On Sept. 24, Fenty was taken into custody in Barangay Buaya, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines, by the Philippine Bureau of Immigration Fugitive Search Unit following coordination with U.S. authorities.
According to the Kemper County Sheriff’s Office, Philippine authorities said the operation followed a request from the U.S. government through the U.S. Embassy in Manila.
Fenty is now subject to deportation proceedings in the Philippines. Authorities there also reportedly placed him on an immigration blacklist, barring him from reentering the country.
Sheriff James R. Moore praised the agencies involved, saying investigators continued pursuing the case even after it crossed state and international borders.
The sheriff’s office thanked the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office, Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Air Marshal Service, Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Embassy in Manila and the Philippine Bureau of Immigration Fugitive Search Unit for assisting.
The investigation remains active.
Fenty is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
