Pilot Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Traveling to the Philippines for Child Sexual Abuse

Mercer County Man, Former Pilot Frank Maile Receives 144-Month Sentence and Lifetime Supervised Release

NEWARK, N.J. – Frank Maile, a 68-year-old resident of Hamilton, New Jersey, and former Ocean County resident, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on August 15, 2024, for engaging in illicit sexual conduct abroad, including the production of child pornography. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Newark federal court, following Maile's guilty plea on September 6, 2023, to charges involving sexual acts with minors and the creation of explicit material.

Maile, a former cargo pilot who frequently traveled abroad, admitted to traveling to the Philippines from as early as 2013, where he engaged in sexual acts with two minor sisters. Court documents revealed that Maile coordinated these encounters through explicit online communications with the minors' pimp. During his trips, Maile produced images and videos of the minors engaging in multiple sex acts, in which he also participated. These acts were classified as commercial sex acts, performed in exchange for compensation.

Maile was apprehended on April 6, 2018, upon re-entering the United States in Alabama, where authorities discovered additional images of child sexual abuse in his possession. Further evidence was found during his arrest in New Jersey on May 1, 2018. Maile also confessed to distributing some of the child pornography to his then-roommate, Dennis Nerolich, who has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and is scheduled for sentencing on November 6, 2024.

In addition to the 144-month prison term, Maile was sentenced to lifetime supervised release, ordered to register as a sex offender, and imposed a $5,000 assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, along with a $50,000 fine. The court will determine restitution at a later date.

The case was investigated by special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker, leading to Maile's sentencing.