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It was a glorious May afternoon last year  at the Lok Ma Chau border crossing, and the hundreds of travellers blinking in the sunlight as they made their way towards immigration control were unaware there was a monster in their midst.
Kenneth Freeman, 46, who had repeatedly raped his 10-year-old daughter and distributed videos of his deeds on the internet, was heading into Hong Kong from the mainland for a holiday.
One of America's most wanted fugitives, he had been on the run in China for a little more than a year. That was all about to end.
Hong Kong police, acting on a request from  US authorities, arrested  Freeman as soon as he crossed the border.
Last week, in a deal in Washington state  that will net him 50 years behind bars, he pleaded guilty to a host of charges related to the abuse of his pre-teen daughter.
'Kenneth Freeman distinguishes himself as one of the most heinous and despicable  paedophiles [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has ever encountered,' said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of the ICE's Office of Investigations in Seattle.
'His capture overseas and eventual return ... are powerful reminders that the world's sexual predators increasingly have no place to hide.'
The story of how Freeman was tracked to the mainland,  arrested in Hong Kong and then extradited back to the US has shone a light on the usually secretive world of international law-enforcement co-operation.
According to figures obtained by the Sunday Morning Post, Freeman, who was extradited in October  last year, was just one of 50 people so far returned to the US under an agreement finalised in 1998.
'Although this was a pretty horrendous case, we treated it very much like all the others,' said a Hong Kong Department of Justice source, who  did not want to be named.  'And once he decided not to contest the extradition, it actually went quite rapidly as far as these things go.'
When he was found to be hiding on the mainland, which does not have an extradition treaty with the US, a request was made in February  last year for Hong Kong authorities to arrest him. He was also on an Interpol watch list and,  that April, a local magistrate issued a warrant for Freeman's immediate arrest.
'Initially, he indicated he would contest the extradition,' the Department of Justice source said. 'So a hearing was set down for September 10, but he changed his mind.
'One of the reasons for this going so smoothly was that the evidence the US sent over was relatively compelling,' said the source.
Extradition hearings are like mini trials and the Hong Kong judge would need to be convinced there was a reasonable chance of conviction if Freeman  were to be extradited.
'We do get first-hand testimony in the form of affidavits in order to prove the case in court,' the source said.
But  as with all criminal trials, the outcome of an extradition hearing can be appealed against. Fugitives can appeal all the way to the Court of Final Appeal and, even if they  lose at that level, can  make representations to the chief executive, who has to sign off on all extraditions.
And even that decision is open to judicial review.
So if fugitives have deep enough pockets, they can delay proceedings significantly.
As it was, Freeman did not contest the extradition, and an order for his removal was signed on September 25  last year.
A US consulate spokesman praised the city's law-enforcement agencies for their help in apprehending Freeman and other fugitives.
'US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is very appreciative of the outstanding efforts of [Hong Kong] in the capture, arrest and extradition of Freeman.'



Hong Kong role in extradition of sexual predator sends clear message to fugitives