NJ pilot flew overseas to record sex with little girls, feds say

Federal authorities say a veteran of the U.S. Air Force who became a cargo pilot would fly from his home in New Jersey to the Philippines where he raped and videotaped underage girls who had been forced into the sex trade.

Frank William Maile, 63, who lives in Hamilton in Mercer County, was indicted Thursday on charges of production of child pornography abroad, illicit sexual conduct abroad, and possession of child pornography.

Maile was busted in April 2018 when he returned from a trip. Border security in Huntsville, Alabama, searched his electronic devices and found a suspected image of child sexual abuse on his Macbook, feds say.

After his electronics were confiscated, investigators said they "uncovered a large volume of apparently original depictions of child sexual abuse."

Investigators said they were able to identify several of the victims by linking them to social media accounts.

Feds say investigators also stumbled on online chats between Maile and a pimp in the Philippines who arranged sex with underage girls.

They said the chats began in 2013 and involved discussions about having sex with two sisters who were as young as 10 and 14 years old. Prosecutors said the girls in Maille's videos, which were created between November and December 2015, appeared prepubescent.

Federal prosecutors said Maile recorded the sisters having sexual activity with each other while he used a sex toy on one of them.

Among the conversations was an argument over whether the 10 year old was too young to have sex (Maille didn't think so) and a debate on whether the 14-year-old was old enough to be on birth control (Maille believed she should be), prosecutors said.

In one exchange, the pimp told Maile that he would ask the 10-year-old girl's mother how much she would charge to let Maille rape her daughter.

In other messages, Maile and the pimp discussed whether the hotels Maile stayed at allowed minors to visit, the feds say.

In 2015, Maille suggested to the pimp that Maile could take video of him having sex with the older sister in order to sell it, feds say. During the chat, Maile told the pimp that he was at a hotel with a 12-year-old girl, according to the text of the complaint against him.

Maille's attorney did not return a request for comment on Thursday.

Maille previously lived in the New Egypt section of Plumsted.

He faces a mandatory sentence of 15 years in prison if he's found guilty of child-porn production and up to 30 years in prison on the charges of illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place

Sergio Bichao is deputy digital editor at New Jersey 101.5. Send him news tips: Call 609-359-5348 or email sergio.bichao@townsquaremedia.com.