Thai sex abuse case: Trial of Canadian accused begins

A CANADIAN arrested last year in a worldwide manhunt after Interpol unscrambled his swirled digital images from internet photos, went on trial yesterday in Thailand, accused of sexually abusing a nine-year-old boy.

Christopher Paul Neil, a 32-year-old schoolteacher who worked in several Asian countries, has pleaded not guilty. He was arrested in Thailand on October 19, 2007, after Interpol issued an unprecedented global appeal to help apprehend him.

Shackled and smiling, Neil waved to a friend and said, “How’s it going?” as he entered Bangkok’s criminal courthouse.

“I hope there will be justice in Thailand,” he said.

Neil is accused of sexually abusing a nine-year-old Thai boy, who contacted police after seeing Neil’s face on television following his arrest. The child claims Neil paid him $15 to $30 to perform oral sex in 2003, while he was living in Thailand.

He faces up to 20 years in prison for charges that include sexually abusing a minor and videotaping the alleged abuse, taking a child without parental consent and holding him against his will. “We’ve got the evidence and we have the victim,” said prosecutor Sontus Singhapus. “He’s guilty.”

Prosecutors plan to introduce about 70 photographs that allegedly show Neil engaging in sexual acts and playing with young naked and partially clothed young boys, said Sontus.

They plan to put the victim, now 14, on the stand along with his parents and another boy who recruited the youngster for Neil.

Sontus said Neil could face additional charges if police can track down other Thai victims whom he allegedly abused.

Neil’s opening hearing was quickly adjourned after the court assigned him an attorney and set the next session for June 2.

Interpol’s public call for help was based on the discovery of about 200 internet photos believed to show Neil sexually abusing at least a dozen Vietnamese and Cambodian boys, some as young as six.

The photos were found online in 2004, but the face of the perpetrator was digitally obscured as a swirling shape. After three years of searching, the international police agency was able to unscramble the images with the help of German police computer experts. Interpol circulated the pictures publicly and received hundreds of tips that led them to identify Neil as the suspect.

Neil was arrested 11 days after the appeal was launched after flying into Bangkok from South Korea, where he worked as an English teacher. He was caught at the house of his boyfriend, named Ohm, in Nakhon Ratchasima province in the north-east.