Immigration officers assigned to the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), located in the province of Alajuela, detained a male traveler from the United States during the early hours of Friday. According to a news report filed by Josue Alvarado of online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, the U.S. man planned to enter our country for the purpose of tourism; however, he was denied entry at the passport control checkpoint because he is reportedly a registered sex offender.

The air traveler apparently boarded a flight at an airport in Houston, Texas. Upon approaching the immigration checkpoint at SJO, immigration officers scanned his passport and noticed that the man was registered on a database of sex offenders, specifically one that listed him as having been convicted of a sexual abuse against a minor.

A statement on the matter was attributed to Kathya Rodriguez, Director General of Immigration in Costa Rica:

“To deny entry to this type of travelers, who could compromise and endanger the safety of children in Costa Rica, is something that immigration officers can achieve by means of verification of electronic databases and other protocols at entry checkpoints.”

After being denied entry, airport officials made arrangements for the traveler, who goes by the last name of Chesney, to board a return flight to Houston. Immigration officers stayed with him on Friday until he boarded the aircraft.

Sex offender registries are jurisdictional databases used by law enforcement officials to keep track of individuals who have been convicted of various criminal offenses that may be considered to be of a sexual nature. Depending on the jurisdiction, the convictions that prompt registration in these databases may be misdemeanors or felonies.

In the Americas, the only two nations that operate a sex offender registry are Canada and the U.S. Public access to these databases is currently in effect only in the U.S.