Former State Department employee pleads guilty to sexual conduct with minors in Philippines

A former State Department employee pleaded guilty Monday to engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors while working at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines. 

Dean Edward Cheves, 63, served at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines from 2017 to 2021. During that time, he met multiple minors over the internet, according to the Department of Justice. 

Between December 2020 and March 2021, Cheves communicated with a then-15 to 16-year-old Philippine minor whom he paid to produce and send sexually explicit images, the DOJ said. 

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In February 2021, Cheves engaged in sex acts on two separate occasions with another Philippine minor who he met online, using his government-issued cell phone to film the encounter. 

The illicit material was later found on devices seized from his embassy residence in the Philippines, the DOJ said, adding that he was aware of the minors’ ages. Cheves was sent back to the U.S. in March 2021. 

Cheves is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 20, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison for each count.