Seattle man accused of child rape agrees to extradition

HONG KONG -- A Seattle man accused of raping his daughter and posting the videos on the Internet has agreed to be extradited from Hong Kong to the United States, his lawyer said Monday.

Kenneth John Freeman, who was on America's most-wanted list, had been challenging the extradition request by the U.S. since he was arrested while traveling in Hong Kong in May.

But his lawyer, Giles Surman, told a Hong Kong court on Monday, "After due consideration, Freeman decided he will consent to surrender and be sent to the United States."

The judge, Wahab Abu Bakar bin, consented to Freeman's extradition.

Final approval for the extradition must come from Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang.

Freeman has been charged in Benton County Superior Court with three counts of child rape and jumping bail. He faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted.

He also faces federal charges of producing and distributing child pornography.

The 44-year-old bodybuilder, who used to be a volunteer reserve sheriff's deputy, had been on the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's most-wanted list.

Freeman fled his home in Seattle last year after his 17-year-old daughter told her mother that he had assaulted her four years earlier.

The teenager also went on national television to tell her story, which helped identify her as the victim in a series of child pornography videos on the Internet, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.

Freeman flew from Vancouver, B.C., to China in March 2006. Hong Kong authorities arrested him in May at the border with mainland China.