A man long wanted in connection with the 1989 abduction and rape of a 7-year-old girl in Tampa has been tracked down across the globe, with authorities saying he was arrested in the Philippines last week. Hillsborough County investigators identified the suspect as 69-year-old Young Tom Talmadge, who was taken into custody on April 23 and is being held overseas while U.S. officials work to bring him back to Florida.
The Philippine Bureau of Immigration reported that operatives from its Fugitive Search Unit moved in on Talmadge at a residence in General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite after receiving a tip from U.S. Homeland Security Investigations. He was then transported to the BI Warden Facility at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City, where he remains in custody while deportation proceedings move forward, according to a press release from the Bureau of Immigration.
The original case dates back to 1989, when a child was abducted from Tampa Lanes on North Dale Mabry Highway in the Egypt Lake-Leto area, according to local coverage. Investigators say a man gave the 7-year-old coins to play arcade games, lured her to his car, sexually battered her, then dropped her off at a different bowling alley while worried employees and customers searched for her, as reported by FOX 13 Tampa Bay.
How investigators linked him
Hillsborough detectives revisited preserved DNA evidence from the 1989 investigation and used genealogical research to narrow down potential suspects, a strategy that ultimately pointed them to Talmadge. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement later confirmed a DNA match, and a warrant was issued in March 2025 by the 13th Judicial Circuit Court of Hillsborough County, according to reporting by WFLA.
Charges and next steps
Prosecutors say that once Talmadge is back in Florida, he is expected to face charges that include sexual battery on a victim less than 12 years old by an adult, lewd and lascivious acts on a child, and kidnapping to commit a felony on a child. There is still no public timetable for when extradition or deportation will happen, since immigration procedures and coordination with Philippine authorities must be completed first. An immigration attorney told FOX 13 Tampa Bay that for many in the community, the arrest offers a long-awaited chance at closure in a case that has loomed over Tampa for decades.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado cast the arrest as part of the agency’s broader #ShieldKids initiative and pledged continued cross-border coordination. “We will continue to work closely with international counterparts to protect Filipino children and uphold justice,” Viado said in a statement released by the Bureau of Immigration.
