Florida lawyer, 42, is deported to the US and put under house arrest after he 'paid to rape four children' in Cambodia

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An American lawyer who has spent the past two-and-a-half years in Cambodian prison for the alleged rape of several children is now facing five federal counts in the US - after being deported back to the states earlier this month. Currently being kept under house arrest in Tampa, 42-year-old Rugh James Cline is facing 170 years in prison for his alleged crimes, which include alleged payments to rape four minors in the Southeast Asian nation back in 2019. According to the lawman's indictment, he arrived in Cambodia in May of that year with a photo or video showing two Cambodian children engaged in sex acts - before and after raping two minors under the age of 15 on multiple different occasions. The trip was the second in a matter of months for the Florida lawyer, with the first made in February - during which time prosecutors believe he either recorded  the aforementioned media, which featured one child as young as '12 years old.'

 

FULL STORY

[Emdog]

Horrible man, horrible crimes. He should still be rotting in a Cambodian prison IMO

BUT.... now he is being charged in USA with "..enough to slap Cline with five counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place". FOREIGN PLACE: not the USA. How the hell does one logically and legally explain the issue of jurisdiction claimed by US feds regarding crime committed in sovereign nation of Cambodia? How can they bring him to trial in US when he has already been convicted and served time in Cambodia. Wouldn't that be a form of double jeopardy? "Oh, but he didn't get enough prison time in Cambodia" some may say. It's their country, their laws, and they determine punishment for breaking their laws.

I recall seeing large banners up in Pattaya years ago paid for by US announcing "Do the crime here. Spend the time in prison in US".

Imagine if you were a Malaysian and legally smoked pot while visiting Oregon, USA. You come back to KL and are tossed in prison and put on trial.

" Recreational use of cannabis under Malaysian legislation provides for a mandatory death penalty for convicted drug traffickers. Individuals arrested in possession of 200 grams (seven ounces) of marijuana are presumed by law to be trafficking in drugs" You don't have any drugs when reentered Malaysia, but you had pot over in US, "a foreign place".

 

[Chomper Higgot]

An actual serious danger to children is under ‘House Arrest’.

Not a lot of joined up thinking going on.

 

 

 

[youreavinalaff]

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

An actual serious danger to children is under ‘House Arrest’.

Not a lot of joined up thinking going on.

 

 

 

A terrible crime. An awful person. I hope the prisoners he shares a wing with will show their displeasure everytime the get the opportunity.

 

However, he is not the only one who should be imprisoned. The article says he paid for his desires. If he paid, there are those accepting the payments that need to be charged too. 

[candide]

4 hours ago, Emdog said:

Horrible man, horrible crimes. He should still be rotting in a Cambodian prison IMO

BUT.... now he is being charged in USA with "..enough to slap Cline with five counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place". FOREIGN PLACE: not the USA. How the hell does one logically and legally explain the issue of jurisdiction claimed by US feds regarding crime committed in sovereign nation of Cambodia? How can they bring him to trial in US when he has already been convicted and served time in Cambodia. Wouldn't that be a form of double jeopardy? "Oh, but he didn't get enough prison time in Cambodia" some may say. It's their country, their laws, and they determine punishment for breaking their laws.

I recall seeing large banners up in Pattaya years ago paid for by US announcing "Do the crime here. Spend the time in prison in US".

Imagine if you were a Malaysian and legally smoked pot while visiting Oregon, USA. You come back to KL and are tossed in prison and put on trial.

" Recreational use of cannabis under Malaysian legislation provides for a mandatory death penalty for convicted drug traffickers. Individuals arrested in possession of 200 grams (seven ounces) of marijuana are presumed by law to be trafficking in drugs" You don't have any drugs when reentered Malaysia, but you had pot over in US, "a foreign place".

 

There are similar laws in other countries, I.e. in Europe, to combat child tourism.

[Chomper Higgot]

23 minutes ago, candide said:

There are similar laws in other countries, I.e. in Europe, to combat child tourism.

The specific US Federal law:

 

 https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/extraterritorial-sexual-exploitation-children

[EastBayRay]

Hopefully he receives a lengthy sentence for such horrible crimes.

[Tropicalevo]

17 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

However, he is not the only one who should be imprisoned. The article says he paid for his desires. If he paid, there are those accepting the payments that need to be charged too. 

It is usually the parents who are desperate for money.

I have read of a number of cases where this has happened in the Philippines, Cambodia and Indonesia.

Sometimes, one of the parents will record the terrible acts for the adult committing them.

Sad and very evil.

[Emdog]

18 hours ago, candide said:

There are similar laws in other countries, I.e. in Europe, to combat child tourism.

I get that, but from a legal viewpoint, from a sovereign nation viewpoint, there is no basis for these laws. 

Think of the Taliban: if they said any citizen who drank beer or wine anywhere in the world would be lashed 100 times. Would that be okay with you guys? Drinking alcohol seems to be a bigger offense than having sex with children (How old was one of the brides of Mo? 6 or 7.)

Again I am totally against pedophiles and all that, lock them up forever by the nation where the offense took place

I smoked some big O on first trek back in 1982.  I could have been given "not more than 20 yrs in prison" for that (Schedule II drug).

"House rules" apply in your house. Not your neighbors house, or country

[Berkshire]

1 hour ago, Emdog said:

I get that, but from a legal viewpoint, from a sovereign nation viewpoint, there is no basis for these laws. 

Think of the Taliban: if they said any citizen who drank beer or wine anywhere in the world would be lashed 100 times. Would that be okay with you guys? Drinking alcohol seems to be a bigger offense than having sex with children (How old was one of the brides of Mo? 6 or 7.)

Again I am totally against pedophiles and all that, lock them up forever by the nation where the offense took place

I smoked some big O on first trek back in 1982.  I could have been given "not more than 20 yrs in prison" for that (Schedule II drug).

"House rules" apply in your house. Not your neighbors house, or country

I don't care where they're locked up so long as they're locked up.  As for your example re the Taliban....apples and oranges. 

[Chomper Higgot]

2 hours ago, Emdog said:

I get that, but from a legal viewpoint, from a sovereign nation viewpoint, there is no basis for these laws. 

Think of the Taliban: if they said any citizen who drank beer or wine anywhere in the world would be lashed 100 times. Would that be okay with you guys? Drinking alcohol seems to be a bigger offense than having sex with children (How old was one of the brides of Mo? 6 or 7.)

Again I am totally against pedophiles and all that, lock them up forever by the nation where the offense took place

I smoked some big O on first trek back in 1982.  I could have been given "not more than 20 yrs in prison" for that (Schedule II drug).

"House rules" apply in your house. Not your neighbors house, or country

I can think of a number of laws to get all outraged and affronted over, this isn’t one of them.

 

Not by a very long way is this a law I have any problem with.