John Raymond Fenty taken into custody in Philippines amid sexual battery investigation

John Raymond Fenty, 62, was taken into custody in the Philippines in connection with a Kemper County Sheriff’s Office investigation into allegations of sexual battery involving a mentally incapacitated adult, the sheriff’s office said.

The Criminal Investigations Division began investigating Fenty on July 13, 2026. On Sept. 5, the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team, assisted by the Kemper County Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team, executed a search warrant at a residence on York Road in Lauderdale County. Later that day, the Kemper County team executed a second warrant at a residence on Rossie Coats Road in Kemper County.

Investigators seized digital evidence during the searches, and the evidence was submitted to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office for forensic examination and processing.

The sheriff’s office said investigators determined that Fenty had left the United States and traveled to the Philippines before the warrants were executed. Investigators worked with federal law enforcement partners, and information about Fenty and the investigation was provided to international authorities.

On Sept. 24, 2026, Fenty was taken into custody in Barangay Buaya, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, by the Philippine Bureau of Immigration Fugitive Search Unit following coordination with U.S. authorities. He is subject to deportation proceedings in the Philippines and has been placed on that country’s immigration blacklist, according to Philippine authorities.

The Kemper County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation remains active. All criminal allegations are accusations, and Fenty is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Source: Kemper County Sheriff's Office.