American man arrested for allegedly abusing 14-year-old Thai student

[Polaky]

You guys seem to want to crucify someone who has not been proven guilty of any sex crime, could all be just a misunderstanding and he is totally innocent,  you must be all members to the kangaroo court of Thailand.

[Liverpool Lou]

6 hours ago, Taboo2 said:

After he is finished with his stay at the luxury resort called the BKK Hilton, and appropriately managed by those folks, please send him to an American Prison.  We have as special welcoming party ready for him and the rest of his life will quite an adventure.

When, and where, was the guilty verdict announced?

[Liverpool Lou]

6 hours ago, bradiston said:

Great. All based on hearsay and gossip.

So far...

[Liverpool Lou]

6 hours ago, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

Let's see his photo.  Dollars to doughnuts he looks like an obvious pedo.

Lets see a guilty verdict first, eh, before identifying him?  What does "an obvious pedo" look like?

[Liverpool Lou]

6 hours ago, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

Let's see his photo.  Dollars to doughnuts he looks like an obvious pedo.

Dollars to doughnuts some people don't know their arse from their elbow.

[Liverpool Lou]

6 hours ago, smew said:

On March 6, 2024: mother discovered this an d waited until now!? 

Something fishy with this claim. To be waiting 6 months, seems long, yes: some decisions take time.

It was not reported that she waited until now to file a complaint, she filed her complaint immediately...

"On March 6, 2024, the mother learned from a schoolteacher that Keller had taken her daughter to his condo ... The schoolteacher, upon receiving the report from the friend, promptly contacted the mother, who then filed an official complaint with the Phetkasem Police Station".

[newbee2022]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Picture courtesy: Khaosod

 

A foreign language teacher, Robert Leroy K, an American national aged 41, has been arrested in Bangkok for allegedly taking a 14-year-old student to his condominium and abusing her. The arrest followed a report from the girl’s distressed mother, who claimed her daughter was supposed to be studying.

 

On September 3, 2024, law enforcement officers from the Phetkasem Police Station, under the direction of Pol. Col. Prasong Anmanee and other senior officials, apprehended Keller at his condo in Bang Khae District. Keller faces charges including taking a child under fifteen for indecent purposes and abducting a minor from a parent or guardian.

 

The girl's mother reported that on February 16, 2024, she had sent her daughter to school as usual. However, after school, the daughter informed her that she would be hanging out with friends. When the mother attempted to contact her daughter around 4 p.m., she received no response, despite making over 20 calls in a span of two hours. 

 

Later in the evening, the daughter returned a call, claiming to be at a shopping mall alone, which worried the mother, as her daughter never ventured far from home without permission. On March 6, 2024, the mother learned from a schoolteacher that Keller had taken her daughter to his condo. A concerned friend of the daughter had reported the incident to the teacher, leading to the discovery.

 

According to the allegation, once in the condo, Keller acted indecently by holding hands and hugging the girl. The schoolteacher, upon receiving the report from the friend, promptly contacted the mother, who then filed an official complaint with the Phetkasem Police Station.

 

Police tracked down Keller and arrested him at the condo on September 3, 2024. Keller denied the charges, asserting that the girl was merely there for study purposes.

 

Keller remains in police custody at Phetkasem Police Station, where the investigation is ongoing. Authorities emphasize the seriousness of the charges and are working diligently to bring the case to a just conclusion.

 

-- 2024-09-04

 

 

Get the ASEAN NOW daily NEWSLETTER - Click HERE to subscribe

To be alone with a student in a room is a "No Go" for any teacher. 👍

[Liverpool Lou]

6 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

I'm not clear that any law has been broken in this case.

Why...can't you read?...

"Keller faces charges including taking a child under fifteen for indecent purposes and abducting a minor from a parent or guardian".

[Aleksey75]

7 hours ago, bradiston said:

Great. All based on hearsay and gossip.

Yeah, can't the students and that "schoolteacher" just have a grudge against that American?!

Thais tend to be jealous of farangs' higher salaries, for example. Or, there might be some argument and they're very revengeful in that case...

[guydude]

I have a genuine question: what normally happens in a case like this after the police finish "investigating?" Since there was (as far as the story reveals) no actual sex, and presumably it will be a case of "he said/she said," do the police eventually conclude that the case is weak and let him go? Or does he actually get charged and possibly serve time? Or something else? I am just wondering ... not trying to argue the case either way. Maybe he gets in trouble for something different like an immigration offense and that is the end of it? 

Edited September 4 by guydude
Typo

[khaowong1]

7 hours ago, bradiston said:

Great. All based on hearsay and gossip.

Exactly.  

 

[Nick Carter icp]

8 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

But they did come right out and say that he held hands with her and hugged her, so there was no sex.

 

   He's hardly going to say that he spend two hours banging her, now is he .

   He quite possible could be lying 

[kwak250]

It seems the English might be in the news for most of the drunken behavior but the Americans seem to be the main culprits when underage children are involved.

[OneManShow]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

According to the allegation, once in the condo, Keller acted indecently by holding hands and hugging the girl. The schoolteacher, upon receiving the report from the friend, promptly contacted the mother, who then filed an official complaint with the Phetkasem Police Station.

I'm just wondering if he was a Thai teacher what would happen. Once in a while we hear/read in news that of course not only holding hands and hugging. And police usually don't do much even if there is a rape case.

"It was just a misunderstanding"

[OneManShow]

2 hours ago, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

"Any other regular guy"  

 

I'm curious if these boys are foreign language teachers ? 

[Sig]

12 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Absolutely correct and though having sex with an underage gal is a crime and the punishment can be and should be very severe. Last I heard holding hands and hugging a 14-year-old in a consensual manner is a pretty minor crime, if a crime at all. A tremendous lack of judgment yes, a horrendous mistake yes, but a crime? I am not so sure about that. 

 

Granted, it would seem that many are willing to put the guy away for life, based on very thin facts and evidence. 

 

But is that right, is that justice? Or is that just symbolic of the state of netizen outrage in 2024? 

 

I don't even think it can be called a mistake at all, let alone a horrendous one. For all anyone here knows, she may have issues at home and she was confiding in him and she may have hugged him, seeking solace. There are numerous circumstances that may have brought that about that we have no idea of.

[steven100]

9 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   He's hardly going to say that he spend two hours banging her, now is he .

   He quite possible could be lying 

 

and what did she say happened ?    she didn't say they had sex ... she didn't say she was forced to do anything ....    if something bad happened wouldn't she say what happened   ??

Make of that what you will then ....   

 

 

 

 

Edited September 4 by steven100

[Lopburikid]

18 hours ago, bradiston said:

Great. All based on hearsay and gossip.

Correct. But 1: you don't take a 14 year old alone  to your condo, not even if you are teaching her. 2: Why is it the girl told a friend, a friend told a teacher, a teacher told the mother, the mother told the police, a month after it was supposed to have happened. 3: they guy has denied it. But people who know nothing about him,the,girl, the teacher, and the mother have condemned him the same as they condemned the Swiss guy, who was found innocent yesterday.

[steven100]

This thread is AN kangaroo court  

[Nick Carter icp]

9 minutes ago, steven100 said:

This thread is AN kangaroo court  

 

   This is a discussion  forum , it isn't a Court of any kind at all .

   This forum doesn't legally pass guilt/not guilty , so this isn't a kangaroo Court or any other Court  what so ever 

[steven100]

10 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   He's hardly going to say that he spend two hours banging her, now is he .

   He quite possible could be lying 

and it's quite possible you don't really know and your just guessing

[Nick Carter icp]

10 minutes ago, steven100 said:

and it's quite possible you don't really know and your just guessing

 

   Yes, you are correct , no one on this forum knows what happened , we are all just giving an opinion . 

   Have you just discovered forums and how they work ?

[ChicagoExpat]

10 hours ago, kwak250 said:

It seems the English might be in the news for most of the drunken behavior but the Americans seem to be the main culprits when underage children are involved.

I hate to say it but I agree with you.  I think it's because it's becoming increasingly difficult to be a pedo back home, it's something law enforcement (and the culture as a whole) are really going after.

[steven100]

15 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Yes, you are correct , no one on this forum knows what happened , we are all just giving an opinion . 

   Have you just discovered forums and how they work ?

the cops are just waiting for the ka-ching to come around ...   

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 5 by steven100

[spidermike007]

43 minutes ago, Lopburikid said:

Correct. But 1: you don't take a 14 year old alone  to your condo, not even if you are teaching her. 2: Why is it the girl told a friend, a friend told a teacher, a teacher told the mother, the mother told the police, a month after it was supposed to have happened. 3: they guy has denied it. But people who know nothing about him,the,girl, the teacher, and the mother have condemned him the same as they condemned the Swiss guy, who was found innocent yesterday.

We all know being found innocent, can be far different than being innocent. The Swiss guy was guilty. And likely paid off the lawyers and the judge. 

[Nick Carter icp]

4 minutes ago, steven100 said:

did you go to special school by any chance ....  

 

   No need for derogatory comments .

[Nick Carter icp]

11 minutes ago, ChicagoExpat said:

I hate to say it but I agree with you.  I think it's because it's becoming increasingly difficult to be a pedo back home, it's something law enforcement (and the culture as a whole) are really going after.

 

   Its difficult because 14 years olds like about 30 years old  back home 

[KhunBENQ]

19 hours ago, adrin said:

Just another day in Isan. Police could check every house there

Your geography needs serious rework.

Forum rules don't allow me to use proper words for such stupidity.

In case you are visually impaired I excuse.

 

Stunning how many likers such nonsense earns 

Edited September 5 by KhunBENQ

[Andrew65]

16 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I totally agree, my guess is that the Japanese probably have one of the lowest percentage of visitors who commit crimes. Generally speaking they're pretty straight arrows, and I've always found them to be quite respectful in their behavior, other than the fact that some of them do have some slightly peculiar sexual tendencies, but as long as it's consensual, it's all good. 

Agreed, I had 2 trips to Japan, the first time for the World Cup in 2002, I really enjoyed it there. They must be the most polite people in the world.

[Bundooman]

The staggering amount of defensive replies to this man's actions is unbelievable! 5 pages.

 

Most of you appear to think that it is absolutely normal for a 41 year-old foreigner, a 'teacher' at that, believing it was OK to invite a 14 year-old  girl student to his home, without any apparent check that her parents knew about  it?

 

It was stated that he only held her hand and hugged her. Why would he do that? Alone with a young girl, none of you even think that gestures like that are a typical grooming ploy?

 

How do you know what this American was thinking? She probably looked up to him as a respected teacher and placed her trust in him. She may even have given him the impression that she was interested in being alone with him.

 

But the bottom line is that he is/was a teacher. He is supposed to honourable, trustworthy, of good moral character and this is definitely and in no way, that such an person entrusted with vulnerable young people, especially a young girl, should act.

 

You all know that. He was totally wrong to allow this to happen. The fault lies with him. absolutely. 

 

How many times on this forum have I seen you all baying for blood and justice when a Thai teacher, or even another foreigner teacher attempts something like this? 

 

Is it because he is an 'American'? If he was a Brit, you would all be screaming about him with the usual racial hatred many of you have for them.

 

Disgusting Trump-like show of the way women are viewed by many men! It is shameful!