Internet pervert thought he was computer expert

The serial internet paedophile unmasked by Interpol after he tried to hide behind a digitally altered picture boasted of his expertise with computers to other online perverts.

The man now known to be Canadian Christopher Paul Neil is on the run in Thailand after his real face was revealed by advanced technology.

But Neil, an English language teacher, also posed as a “Peter Jackson” on an online education forum.

In one posting, part of an online discussion with several people about pornography, he wrote: “If you’re worried about any ’content’ there are several ways to encrypt your drive.”

“If you want to get rid of old files so no one will see, then simply deleting them will not work,” he added.

It was this false confidence that allowed the 32-year-old to upload hundreds of pictures of him abusing young boys on to internet sites, having disguised his face behind a digital swirl.

But German police experts were able to reverse the process and publish his picture around the world.

That led to his arrival last week at Bangkok’s international airport being caught on camera at the immigration counter.

He is believed to be still in the country and neighbouring Southeast Asian countries have placed their border guards on alert should he try to leave.

He will be extradited to Canada to face child sex charges once he is arrested.

“The paperwork has been put place for that to happen,” a Canadian police spokesman said.

Amy Bowler, a Canadian teacher who knew Neil when he lived in the South Korean city of Yongin, said she contacted Interpol after seeing the photos. Neil often went out with her circle of expatriates but no-one suspected anything sinister about him, she said.

“He had a number of close friends, he came out regularly for drinks, he was certainly not a pariah,” she said.

She described him as “a little awkward. ... I think he was outgoing, but he wasn’t very smooth,” she said.

Another teacher, Kia Pearson, said he taught with Neil at the Kwangju Foreign School in the city of Gwangju.