FIRST ON FOX – A fugitive wanted on child sex trafficking charges allegedly "manipulated and physically, emotionally, psychologically and sexually abused a number of young girls" in the St. Louis area for years, the FBI told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
The FBI added Donald Eugene Fields II to its Ten Most Wanted fugitive list Thursday and more than doubled the typical reward offered for tips as the agency hunts for the alleged predator.
A federal arrest warrant for Fields was issued in December for allegedly trafficking at least one victim between 2013 and 2017, but "where we find one victim, we will traditionally find many, many victims of sexual assault, sexual abuse, rape and sodomy," said Jay Greenberg, special agent in charge of the FBI's St. Louis Field Office.
Some of the girls Fields allegedly sexually abused were as young as 11 years old when it started, and "I can tell you the trauma which happens when somebody when they are young sticks with them for their entire lives," he said.
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The heinous nature of his alleged crimes and the fact that investigators believe he is still in the U.S. and possibly still operating in the area is why the FBI added him to the Ten Most Wanted fugitive list on Thursday.
"He poses an imminent danger to young girls in that area," Greenberg said. "He was known to work for a number of cash jobs. He's been a tree trimmer, he's worked on cars, he's worked in resale shops.
"We believe that he is likely insisting on cash jobs, and somebody out there knowingly or unknowingly is funding his run from justice, so we would want to make sure we share all the details about his alleged crimes."
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Fields has a "really distinctive tribal tattoo on his shoulder," frequents casinos and has connections all over Missouri, but has spent a lot of his time in Franklin and Phelps counties in the northeast part of the state, as well as Indiana, Kentucky and Florida, according to Greenberg.
"He has talked about trying to get across the border to Mexico," Greenberg said, but investigators believe he is still in the U.S. "We do know that he loves to frequent casinos and does ride motorcycles … He's a craps player, so this could be your lucky day."
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The reward for information that leads to his arrest and conviction is up to $250,000, more than double previous rewards to further incentivize the public to send tips.
That will be the new precedent moving forward, said Jay Perez, deputy assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division.
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"The goal of the program is notoriety, publicity for these violent individuals who are currently out," Perez said. "We're trying to get the public's assistance and the public's attention to look out for some of these individuals.
"And by increasing the reward, it's going to increase the notoriety, increase the interest and possibly increase the motivation for somebody in the general public to provide us information."
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The FBI's Ten Most Wanted list began in March 1950, and Fields is the 531st fugitive added to the list. Of the 531 listed suspects, 494 have been arrested or located, including 163 as a result of citizen cooperation.
The FBI captured eight fugitives from the top 10 list in the last five years, according to the Bureau's latest statistics.
Anyone with information about Fields, or any of the other fugitives on the top 10 list, is asked to call the FBI’s tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
Individuals may also contact their local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
