The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a former Lynn man wanted on child sex abuse charges, the federal law enforcement agency said Thursday.
Melchor Datu, 50,is wanted on a federal arrest warrant issued in 2012 on a charge of possession of child pornography. A warrant charging him with rape of a child by force was issued in 2017 out of Lynn District Court, according to the Boston office of the FBI.
Datu’s last known address was on Estes Street in Lynn. He is believed to have fled Massachusetts on Dec. 17, 2008, the FBI tweeted in a statement that was also distributed to media by Massachusetts State Police.
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The Boston Division of the FBI’s Child Exploitation-Human Trafficking Task Force asks anyone with information about Datu to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), their local law enforcement agency or the nearest American embassy or consulate. Tips are also accepted at tips.fbi.gov.
After leaving Massachusetts, he was in New York, Florida and Haiti. He was last seen in the Dominican Republic in 2009, the statement said.
Datu is about 140 pounds and 5 feet 3 inches tall, who speaks English and Tagalog. There is a scar under one of his eyes, the statement said.
Datu was also known under the aliases of Melchor Juico Datu, Melchor Luico Datv, Javier Sanchez, Xavier Belcher and Fred Datu, the FBI said.
He was born on Jan. 27, 1971 in Butuan, the Province of Agusan del Norte in the Caraga region of the Philippines and adopted as an infant. He immigrated to the United States in the 1980s with his parents, the FBI said.
Madison Mercado can be reached at madison.mercado@globe.com.