WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: A 44-year-old man from Ireland was arrested in Colombia after police burst in on him at his hotel in Medellin, Colombia, and allegedly caught him with a 15-year-old girl
Colombia: Police arrest Irish man in Medellin
Police in Colombia have arrested a “depraved” sex tourist from Ireland allegedly caught in a hotel room with a 15-year-old girl amid claims he had offered her £31 for sex.
Local officers released footage of the moment they held the 44-year-old from Dublin, named only as Seamus, and escorted him to a police van in handcuffs. The suspect was caught “red-handed” in a room at the unnamed hotel in Medellin, Colombia.
The 34-year-old hotel manager was also arrested and both men were remanded to a local jail following a court appearance. William Castano Ramos, the head of Valle de Aburra’s Metropolitan Police said: “An Irish citizen has been captured for the sexual exploitation of a minor under the age of 18 in the centre of Medellin.
“A minor aged 15 was found inside one of the rooms at a hotel in the centre of the city with a 44-year-old foreigner during checks at the establishment. The teenager said this man had offered her 160,000 pesos in exchange for a sexual encounter with her.
“As well as the arrest of this man from Dublin in Ireland, we also handed over the hotel administrator to the courts for promoting prostitution. The hotel has been banned from opening as part of a measure which is temporary at the moment while the criminal investigation continues.”
Medellin mayor Federico Gutierrez declared war on sex tourists in April, banning the offer of sexual services in another Medellin neighbourhood for six months. Describing the suspect as a “depraved person” on X, he said: “We do not stop the fight against sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in Medellin. Zero tolerance.
“Thanks to a citizen complaint and the timely and coordinated work between the police and public prosecutors, it was possible to identify a foreign citizen who entered a hotel in the centre of the city in the company of a minor. This person was arrested for the crime of demanding the sexual exploitation of a minor under the age of 18 and the hotel manager for the crime of promoting prostitution.
“The Irish national, called Seamus, a 44-year-old from Dublin, had arrived in Colombia three months ago and had arranged to have a sexual encounter with the 15-year-old for a payment of PESOS Colombian 160.000. He had already paid her half of that.
“The hotel’s commercial activity was temporarily suspended for ten days and its definitive closure was requested. Both the men arrested have been remanded in preventive custody.
“The message is very clear; those who come to exploit our children and women are not only not welcome but we will pursue them until they are caught. These depraved people will continue to fall.”
