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Santa Cruz Man Admits Sex
Abuse As Peace Corps Volunteer
A Santa Cruz (California) man on
Wednesday pleaded guilty to
federal charges of sexually
abusing a minor in Costa Rica
while there as a Peace Corps
volunteer.
The case in U.S. District Court
in San José (California) was the
first prosecution of a Peace
Corps volunteer for sexually
assaulting a minor while serving
in a foreign country, said Kevin
V. Ryan, U.S. Attorney for the
Northern District of California.
Ryan said the conviction of
Timothy Ronald Obert, 38, was
the result of a two-year
investigation by U.S.
immigration and State Department
officials.
Obert was arrested in June 2004
after being indicted by a
federal grand jury under a law
making it a felony to engage in
illicit sexual conduct while
abroad. The law, part of a
package of legislation passed by
Congress in April 2003, is
designed to curb overseas sex
tourism.
The case was also one of the
first prosecutions making use of
a statute enacted under the
Patriot Act, passed in the wake
of the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks. The statute expanded
the jurisdiction of the United
States to encompass residences
in foreign countries that were
being used by U.S. personnel on
U.S. missions.
Obert had been assigned to work
with ``PANI,'' - the
child welfare agency of Costa
Rica - which sought to
help underprivileged children.
The investigation began when a
fellow Peace Corps volunteer
reported that he saw a naked
minor emerging from Obert's
bedroom in the early morning
hours of July 6, 2003. After an
initial investigation by Peace
Corps officials, Obert was
kicked out of the corps.
Obert will be sentenced on May
15. He faces a maximum prison
term of 15 years.
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