A 79-YEARS-OLD American, wanted in the US for sexual abuse of minors was arrested in Boquete, Chiriqui. on Friday, February 23.
Alan Handt, was apprehended following an intelligence operation by National Police (PN) reports El Siglo
Handt, according to the authorities, was detained for violating Article 50 of the Panama Migration Law which states that it may deny any foreigner entry or transit through the country, as well as revoke the visa or permit if there is a criminal record in the country of origin.
He was referred to the National Immigration Service and is now behind bars awaiting deportation to the US to face the criminal charges.
Replies
79 years old; how many lives has he ruined along that lengthy path! As for the Ngobe girls he prayed upon here in Panama can their lives be repaired, and by who? Too many wolves hide behind the mantle of a “Do-gooder” organization and use it as an avenue to prey upon the unsuspecting, it has to be stopped.
JustUnfortunately, cases like these are not rare in Central America:
https://m.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2013/0423/FBI-Most-Wanted-ca...
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/13/sex.offenders.passports/ind...
I was quite happy to get the hell out of there after my two month stint was over, to say the least.
I would just like to thank Gary and Debbie Pearcy for sharing the timeline and helping bust him for his wrongdoing (if found guilty).
To all the people that are defending Handt : There is absolutely no doubt that Alan had full control and power over the 'mission.' He picked the winners and losers. He choose who got help and how much. He certainly didn't help everyone and went out of his way to ostracize people he didn't agree with. The potential for sexual abuse was easy to see. Granted, the culture of the ngobe is completely dysfunctional from what I witnessed rendering victim testimony essentially useless. However, the wife's testimony is pretty hard to deny.
Suffice it to say, I wouldn't defend Alan Handt.
Thanks again Pearcy's! Great work. Would love to email correspond with you.
wow sad
If it is Alan Handt who was arrested here recently, he is the same person who ran the missionary in Volcancito.
yup
Sad...a "Christian missionary" preying on poor and helpless indigenous children. Even more sad: Nothing was done about it by the Panamanian authorities, it seems...
From a local news commentary site for Zionsville Indiana:
A retired doctor from Zionsville has been detained in Panama
...
A spokeswoman at the U.S. Embassy in Panama ... did not have information on the specifics of why Handt was detained
...
Officials from Immigration and Custom Enforcement could not provide any additional details. A spokesman with the U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana said charges were not pending from that office.
...
Handt’s mission is the beneficiary of proceeds from Mission Coffee, a company often found at Carmel farmers markets and owned by Peter Beering.
Beering said he does not know why Handt has been detained. He said he suspects that former mission volunteers involved in a dispute with Handt “stirred this whole thing up” and that Handt will be released soon.
“The U.S. officials in this current political climate are erring on the side of safety,” he said.