After being discovered residing in the Philippines, a man accused of kidnapping and sexually abusing a seven-year-old child almost forty years ago was placed under arrest.
Last year, police from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office collaborated with local authorities to locate young Tom Talmadge, 70, who was eventually taken into custody at his residence in the Asian nation.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said last week that he was finally extradited back to the United States last month to face charges of sexual battery on a victim under the age of twelve, performing a lewd and lascivious act on a minor, and kidnapping to commit a felony on a child.
According to Fox 13, the allegations are related to an event that happened on November 20, 1989, when a man approached a seven-year-old girl inside the now-closed Tampa Lanes bowling alley, offered her money to play arcade games, and then enticed her to his car.
After reportedly abusing the young girl sexually, he dropped her off at another bowling alley a few hours later.
Authorities claimed that biological evidence produced a credible DNA profile at the start of the investigation, but the case quickly went cold.
Tom Talmadge, 70, is charged with kidnapping and sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl almost forty years ago.
The little girl was allegedly solicited by Talmadge at the now-closed Tampa Lanes bowling alley, given money to play arcade games, and then enticed to his car, where he sexually attacked her.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, deputies at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office continued their investigation, re-entering the DNA profile in a national database in 2004 and once more discovering no matches.
However, when DNA technology advanced, detectives resubmitted the evidence for additional testing in 2022 and conducted new interviews with the victim, witnesses, and the first responding cops.
Talmadge was the result of such inquiry.
By December 2024, Homeland Security Investigations and the sheriff’s office were collaborating with Philippine law enforcement to locate Talmadge and get a DNA sample.
He was eventually located in Cavite in February 2025, and a month later, tests revealed his DNA matched samples taken from the crime scene, according to the authorities.
Talmadge was apprehended by Philippine officials on April 23, 2025, after a warrant for his arrest was issued on March 21, 2025.
Talmadge was extradited to the US a year later, and on April 22, 2026, he arrived.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, he is currently being detained in Rikers Island in New York City and will be transported to Hillsborough County, Florida in the upcoming weeks.
Talmadge was extradited back to the US to face charges after being apprehended by Philippine officials last year.
Joel Anthony Viado, the Immigration Commissioner for the Philippines, stated in a news release last year that Talmadge’s arrest was consistent with the government’s “strengthened drive against foreign sex predators and paedophiles.” “We will continue to work closely with international counterparts to protect Filipino children and uphold justice,” he vowed, adding that “foreign fugitives who commit crimes against children will find no refuge here.”
