Interpol In Rare Sex Abuse Appeal

[george]

Interpol in rare sex abuse appeal

The suspect is said to be of European

origin, and aged 35 to 40.

PHOTO: INTERPOL

Interpol has launched an unprecedented global public appeal to help identify a man shown sexually abusing children in photographs posted on the internet.

The man appears in about 200 images depicting the abuse of 12 boys, which police said were taken in Vietnam and Cambodia, possibly in 2002 and 2003.

The pictures had been digitally altered but police computer specialists have produced identifiable images.

Interpol says the man is a danger to children while he remains at large.

Interpol chief Ronald Noble said: "We have tried all other means to identify and to bring him to justice.

"We are now convinced that without the public's help this sexual predator could continue to rape and sexually abuse young children whose ages appear to range from six to early teens."

Image database

The first pictures of the man were found three years ago in Germany, Interpol said.

The pictures had been manipulated to disguise the man's face with a swirl pattern, but computer specialists at Germany's federal police agency, the BKA, worked with Interpol's human trafficking team to produce identifiable images.

They show a man with slightly receding dark hair, aged 35 to 40 years old.

Despite extensive efforts through Interpol's network of 186 member states his identity remains unknown.

Interpol maintains a database of 520,000 images of child sex abuse submitted by 36 member states.

Using sophisticated software, investigators have identified and rescued nearly 600 victims from 31 countries.

--BBC 2007-10-08

To see the message of Interpol, with additional pictures of the wanted criminal, please click on the link below:

http://www.interpol.int/Public/THB/vico/Default.asp

Edited October 8, 2007 by Maestro
Added Interpol link

[Maestro]

Online abuser 'English teacher'

Images of the suspect were

originally scrambled

Police conducting a worldwide hunt for a man shown sexually abusing children in internet pictures believe he is a teacher of English now in Thailand.

The possible identification of the man, seen in about 200 images depicting abuse, comes after Interpol released a photograph of the suspect.

The pictures of the man were digitally altered but police computer specialists have produced identifiable images.

Police said they may have been taken in Vietnam and Cambodia in 2002 and 2003.

The suspected child abuser was identified by five different sources from three continents as a man teaching English at a school in South Korea, Interpol said.

His name, nationality, date of birth, passport number, and current and previous places of work have also been established, according to the international police organisation.

'All other means'

Interpol said that on Thursday the man flew from Seoul to Bangkok International Airport, where his image was captured by security cameras.

It had said the man seen apparently abusing 12 boys in a number of images was a danger to children while he remained at large.

The international police organisation launched its unprecedented global public appeal last week, after trying "all other means" to identify the man.

It said more than 200 people had responded to their appeal.

Interpol database

The first pictures of the man were found three years ago in Germany and the search for the suspect had been codenamed Operation Vico.

The pictures had been manipulated to disguise the man's face with a swirl pattern, but computer specialists at Germany's federal police agency, the BKA, worked with Interpol's human trafficking team to produce identifiable images.

Interpol maintains a database of 520,000 images of child sex abuse submitted by 36 member states.

Using sophisticated software, investigators have identified and rescued nearly 600 victims from 31 countries.

BBC News, 15October, 16:14 GMT

[Maestro]

Interpol Identifies Paedophile Suspect

Police received a massive global response to appeal

Picture taken of suspect by Thai immigration authorities following his

arrival at Bangkok International airport at 15h26 on Thursday 11

October. (Interpol)

October 15, 2007 9:15:01 AM PDT

PARIS (AP) -- A suspected pedophile sought in a worldwide Interpol manhunt has been identified and is believed to be in Thailand, the international police organization said Monday.

The man, his face digitally disguised, was allegedly shown sexually abusing young boys in Vietnam and Cambodia in images posted on the Internet.

ABC News

[Maestro]

Interpol Says Suspected Pedophile Identified, Sought in Thailand

Monday, October 15, 2007

Associated Press

...

"Thailand is at the center of an international manhunt, and authorities in the country, in co-operation with Interpol and police around the world, are hunting him down," Interpol's secretary general, Ronald K. Noble, said in a statement.

In Bangkok late Monday, the deputy chief of Thailand's Interpol liaison office, police Col. Pornprasert Kanchanarin, said he was unaware of the new developments in the case.

Authorities in the countries affected are still collecting and analyzing evidence to bring charges against the man when he is arrested, according to Interpol's statement.

Interpol provided two new photos of the suspect Monday. One, taken by Thai immigration officials upon his arrival Thursday, showed him seemingly older, with close-cropped hair and wearing glasses. The other, which Interpol said was provided by an informant, was a simple head shot of the man, smiling and ruddy-faced.

...

Fox News

[Maestro]

Pedophile suspect is Canadian – police

From correspondents in Lyon, France | October 16, 2007

INTERPOL says it has identified a man it says posted pictures of himself raping young boys in Vietnam and Cambodia, a week after issuing an unprecedented appeal for help.

The suspect was identified as an English teacher at a South Korean school who is now believed to be in Thailand, the International Criminal Police Organisation said in a statement, citing information provided by five sources from three continents.

Thai police said the man was a 32-year-old Canadian.

...

International police and prosecutors are still collecting and analysing evidence to bring charges against the man Interpol has dubbed "Vico".

The Australian

[Maestro]

OPERATION VICO

Interpol's wanted paedophile is now in Thailand

An image of Vico sent to Interpol

following its worldwide appeal for

information on his identity

The man photographed sexually abusing young children in Vietnam and Cambodia (Vico) in images posted on the Internet is now believed to be in Thailand, Interpol online confirmed.

Intense investigative support from authorities in South Korea and Thailand revealed the man flew from Seoul to Bangkok International Airport on Thursday, 11 October, with security cameras documenting his arrival at immigration at 3.26pm.

'Thailand is at the centre of an international manhunt, and authorities in the country, in co-operation with Interpol and police around the world, are hunting him down,' said Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.

As a result of information provided to Interpol by five different sources from three continents, the suspected child abuser labelled 'Vico,' was identified as a man teaching English at a school in South Korea.

Within three days of the appeal, working with its National Central Bureaus around the world Interpol had also established the suspect's name, nationality, date of birth, passport number, and current and previous places of work.

'The response and contribution we have had from the public has been remarkable, as has the support from the media, which has enabled officers in our specialised unit, our office in Bangkok and police in other member countries to make such remarkable progress in such a short space of time.

'We must once again enlist the public's support, this time to pinpoint Vico's current location.'

More than 350 people worldwide contacted Interpol in response to its appeal for assistance for Operation Vico.

The man pictured sexually abusing 12 different young boys in Vietnam and Cambodia in a series of around 200 images could otherwise not be identified, Interpol said.

Anyone with information on the man's current whereabouts is asked to contact their local police or Interpol via its website, www.interpol.int

The Nation

[Maestro]

How can members contribute to this thread?

Members have been wondering why this topic remains closed. Experience has shown that topics on paedophilia go downhill very quickly and become a nightmare to moderate. An avalanche of off-topic posts makes it difficult to find the important news reports. Therefore, it is best for all concerned to keep such topics closed.

Anybody seeing a news article saying something new that has not yet been reported here, please click the REPORT button to bring it to a moderator's attention for inclusion in this thread, giving the link. Thank you.

[Maestro]

Cambodia names Interpol-hunted paedophile suspect

Tue Oct 16, 2007 4:33am BST

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian police said on Tuesday a suspected serial paedophile being hunted by Interpol across Asia was a Canadian national called Christopher Paul Neil, born in 1975.

Keo Vanthan, deputy director of Interpol offices in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, said Neil had visited Cambodia before leaving for Vietnam, but had no further details.

"We have issued an alert to all our international borders," Keo Vanthan told Reuters, although he added that Cambodia did not yet have enough evidence against Neil to issue an arrest warrant.

Interpol said on Monday the suspect, code-named "Vico", was believed to have fled to Thailand last week from South Korea where he had been teaching English.

...

National police spokesman Pongsapat Pongcharoen said Interpol had contacted the Thai police about the man. "So far we don't have clear evidence to say it is the same man. We were told the man caught on the camera might be the same guy they are looking for. We are looking for him."

(Additional reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan in Bangkok)

Reuters

//Edit: Highlighting in last paragraph mine - Maestro

[Maestro]

'No place to hide' for suspected pedophile--Interpol

Agence France-Presse

Last updated 02:38pm (Mla time) 10/16/2007

BANGKOK -- The Interpol case officer leading a global hunt for a man accused of raping boys in Cambodia and Vietnam on Tuesday urged the suspect to turn himself in, warning there was "no place for him to hide."

"I would like to take this opportunity to ask him to hand himself in to deal with this matter," case officer Mick Moran told Agence France-Presse.

"He is now internationally known. Really, there is no place for him to hide," the Irishman added.

Moran would not confirm the suspect's identity, but earlier Thai police and the international police agency had named him as Christopher Paul Neil, a 32-year-old Canadian accused of posting pictures online of himself raping boys.

Officials said the suspect arrived at Bangkok's main airport last Thursday, when he was photographed by security cameras.

"We are confident that we can track him down. Interpol's network is very large. I have no doubt that we will find him -- maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but definitely we will find him," Moran said.

Moran, who investigates international sex crimes against children, said police were still trying to determine if Neil was still in Thailand.

"We don't know, we hope so. We know he arrived in Thailand," he said.

[Maestro]

Thai police identify pedophile suspect

By JOCELYN GECKER Associated Press Writer

© 2007 The Associated Press

BANGKOK, Thailand — An international manhunt for an alleged pedophile centered Tuesday on Thailand, where authorities said the suspect, 32-year-old Christopher Paul Neil of Canada, was believed to be at large.

...

The Interpol agent in charge of the case, Mick Moran, said the suspect had taught in Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea and entered Thailand last week on a one-way, full-fare ticket from Seoul.

...

[Maestro]

Hunted paedophile suspect named

...

Panaspong Sirawongse, Interpol chief in Thailand, named the suspect as Christopher Paul Neil.

He told Reuters the Canadian had worked at an international school in Thailand between 2003 and 2004.

...

BBC News

[lopburi3]

APPEAL BY FAMILY TO TURN HIMSELF IN

<a href="http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071015/interpol_cdn_071016/20071016?hub=CTVNewsAt11" target="_blank">http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...hub=CTVNewsAt11</a>

[lopburi3]

HIS BLOG

http://www.myspace.com/25501756

[lopburi3]

OPERATION VICO

Manhunt on for Canadian

Police scour local tourist resorts for 32-year-old wanted by Interpol over sexual abuse of Asian boys

Published on October 17, 2007

Police are hunting for a Canadian who is on the Interpol wanted list for sexually abusing at least 12 under-age boys.

The suspect has been identified as Christopher Paul Neil, aged 32.

Thai Interpol Police Superintendent Colonel Apichart Suriboonya confirmed Neil had entered Thailand on a tourist visa last Thursday after leaving Seoul, South Korea, where he taught English.

His arrival at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport last Thursday was caught on camera at the immigration counter.

"We are focusing on tourists resort areas like Pattaya and Phuket, where it is easy to approach children. This is where children become victims," Apichart said.

On October 8, Interpol head office in France made a public appeal to help find Neil after an investigation of about 200 photographs posted on the Internet showed the suspect sexually abusing under-age boys.

His face was digitally altered to mask his identity, but specialists from the German police bureau Bundeskriminalamt - working with Interpol's Trafficking in Human Beings unit - were able to produce an identifiable picture.

"For years images of this man sexually abusing children have been circulating on the Internet," Interpol secretary-general Ronald K Noble said.

"We have tried all other means to identify and to bring him to justice. But we are now convinced that without the public's help, this sexual predator could continue to rape and sexually abuse young children, whose ages appear to range from six to early teens," he said when launching the public appeal last week.

Since the appeal, Interpol has received hundreds of tips about Neil.

The man pictured sexually abusing 12 different young boys in Vietnam and Cambodia in a series of about 200 images could otherwise not be identified, Interpol said.

Anyone with information on the man's current whereabouts is asked to contact their local police or Interpol via its website: www.interpol.int

Apichart said he was preparing information obtained from overseas to secure court approval of an arrest warrant for Neil.

Pol Maj-General Wissanu Prasartthong-osoth, commander of the Royal Thai Police's Foreign Affairs Division, said his unit already informed all immigration points across the country to look out for Neil.

"We are not sure whether he is HIV-positive. We have to nail him down," he said.

Pol Maj-General Wimol Powintara, who heads the Children, Juveniles and Women Division of the Royal Thai Police, said his unit was trying to determine whether Neil had also abused Thai children.

The Interpol case officer, who is here to coordinate the manhunt, yesterday urged Neil to turn himself in to authorities.

"He is now internationally known. Really, there is no place for him to hide," Mick Moran said.

"We are confident that we can track him down. Interpol's network is very large. I have no doubt that we will find him maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but definitely we will find him."

He appealed to the suspect to surrender "to have the matter sorted out in a reasonable and adult manner".

The Nation

[lopburi3]

Suspected pedophile sought in global manhunt worked at N.S. training centre

October 16, 2007 - 17:52

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A suspected pedophile, the subject of a global Interpol manhunt, once worked as a chaplain and counsellor at an air cadet training centre in Nova Scotia, with duties that included teaching a moral issues class. ((continues below))

http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=n101697A

[lopburi3]

Corrupt law enforcement, sex networks provide cover for pedophiles in Asia

AP

By MICHAEL CASEY AP - 59 minutes ago

BANGKOK, Thailand - Last year, suspected pedophile John Mark Karr was caught in Thailand. This week, Canadian Christopher Paul Neil slipped into the Southeast Asian nation in a bid to elude police over allegations that he abused hundreds of young boys in Cambodia and Vietnam.

ADVERTISEMENT

With each new sex case, the obvious question arises: Why do these predators choose Asia to commit their crimes?

Most experts in human trafficking say the region remains popular with sexual predators because of its corrupt law enforcement systems in some countries, pockets of endemic poverty and communities of like-mind criminals who can provide them with a safe haven.

"Everything here makes the crime easy," said Rosalind Prober, president of the Canadian children rights organization Beyond Borders, who is visiting Bangkok.

((continues))

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ap/20071017/tap-a....html?printer=1

[lopburi3]

Thai police: Manhunt is under way for Canadian pedophile suspect

By SUTIN WANNABOVORN,

Associated Press Writer.

Police were in an all-out manhunt Wednesday for a Canadian schoolteacher sought by Interpol over pedophilia allegations and believed at large in Thailand, saying they wanted to protect children in the Southeast Asian nation.

Border guards in Thailand and in neighboring countries around Asia were on alert in the event that 32-year-old Canadian Christopher Paul Neil, who entered Thailand last Thursday, tries to slip out of the country.

"All the immigration checkpoints are on full alert," said Thai police Col. Apichart Suribunya. "We believe he is still in Thailand unless he has crossed into a neighboring country through the jungles."

((continues))

http://www.axilltv.com/bkpost-2.php?newsid=52682

[lopburi3]

Canadian child porn suspect made frequent posts on teachers' web forum

at 9:00 on October 17, 2007, EST.

Lauren Krugel, THE CANADIAN PRESS

Keo Vannthan, director of Cambodia's Interpol bureau, shows pictures and a passport document of suspected pedophile Christopher Paul Neil, at the police headquarters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Heng Sinith

As Thai police intensified their search for a Canadian schoolteacher wanted on child pornography allegations Wednesday, new details came to light about Christopher Paul Neil on a website popular with westerners teaching abroad.

Investigators said Tuesday they believed the 32-year-old British Columbia man was posting on Dave's ESL Cafe website under the pseudonym "Peter Jackson," and some of Neil's colleagues have confirmed that suspicion to the Associated Press.

((continues))

http://www.900chml.com/news/news.cfm?n=1&a...mp;dir=national

[lopburi3]

PAEDOPHILE CASE

Thai man claims he's a victim

Massive hunt for suspect turns up nothing as local reveals sex role

Published on October 18, 2007

A young man yesterday emerged as the first known local victim of alleged Canadian child molester Christopher Paul Neil, the subject of a global manhunt by Interpol and local police.

Speaking after an interview with police, the man, now 18, said he frequently visited Neil's room at an apartment in Bangkok's Din Daeng area four years ago. Neil performed oral sex acts on him on four occasions, paying him between Bt500 and Bt1,000 a time.

The unidentified man said he learned Neil had sex with two of his male friends, also under age at the time, and filmed these acts. The man was unaware if Neil had ever filmed him.

He said Neil let the boys play computer games in his room while he caressed them openly.

A source said the man could have been among several Asian boys recorded having sex with Neil, who then posted these images on the Internet.

According to the man, Neil hired his father, a taxi driver, to drive him around Bangkok and elsewhere. Among the places Neil visited were Patpong in Bangkok and Pattaya in Chon Buri.

A source at the Crime Suppression Division, who located the unnamed man, said another victim was currently undergoing drug rehabilitation in the South after being arrested earlier this year.

Police were trying to locate the second man to interview him.

Immigration police records show Neil flew into Bangkok last Thursday, arriving from South Korea where he worked for several years as an English teacher in Seoul.

Airport security cameras captured him and Interpol was able to match that to a photograph from Neil's website that had been digitally reconstructed by a special crimes unit in Germany.

The picture taken at the airport shows him as balding and with glasses, although previous pictures had him with more hair and no glasses. Interpol says 200 photos have circulated on the Internet, showing the man assaulting 12 different young boys.

Meanwhile, officials at Ram-khamhaeng Advent Inter-national School - a Christian school in the Hua Mark area - said Neil taught there from August 2003 to January 2004.

"He didn't pass probation," said Poramit Srikureja, an assistant chairman of the school.

Poramit said the school gave Neil verbal and written warnings about his performance, in particular sloppy lesson plans and instances where he left students unsupervised in the classroom.

Rajdeep Takeuchi, who was the principal of the school during Neil's tenure, said he was an ineffectual teacher, but never caused any problems.

"As far as I remember, he is quiet and keeps to himself. We monitor newcomers closely but he never created any problem with the students," she said.

Both said there were no complaints of abuse by parents or students during the time he was at the school.

Poramit said it had been much easier for schools to recruit teachers before the high-profile case of John Mark Karr, who claimed he killed six-year-old American child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey in 1996.

Karr was arrested in Bangkok last year and deported to the United States, where he was freed for lack of evidence. He had worked as an English teacher in Bangkok, South Korea and other places.

"It is very good now that we have the police help us screen teachers to make sure there is no previous record" of wrongdoing or criminal activity, Poramit said. "It is a lot more difficult now to get teachers."

The Nation

[lopburi3]

Wanted pedophile taught in B.C.

ROD MICKLEBURGH

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

October 17, 2007 at 1:21 AM EDT

VANCOUVER — The world's most-wanted pedophile is a 32-year-old international teacher from the Lower Mainland bedroom community of Maple Ridge, B.C., who has also taught as a substitute instructor in local Roman Catholic schools.

Christopher Paul Neil has been identified by police as the man who posted several hundred Internet photos of himself – with a digitally altered face – sexually abusing Asian boys.

B.C. Education Minister Shirley Bond confirmed late Tuesday that Mr. Neil, the subject of an intense manhunt by Thai and Interpol authorities, has held an independent schools teaching certificate issued by the province since 2000.

His last stint in British Columbia was as recent as this spring, when he spent five days substituting at the Archbishop Carney High School in Port Coquitlam.

((continues))

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...ernational/home

[lopburi3]

Thailand to issue arrest warrant for pedophilia suspect

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Three Thai youths told police suspected Canadian pedophile Christopher Paul Neil paid them for sex when they were aged 9 to 14, having come forward this week when he was identified in a global manhunt, police said Thursday.

The suspect in a picture released by Interpol,

taken by Thai immigration authorities on his

arrival in Bangkok.

Thai police said an arrest warrant would be issued in Bangkok for Neil later Thursday, and that they also were searching for a fourth youth believed to have had sex with the man.

Neil, 32, has been accused of sexually abusing at least a dozen Cambodian and Vietnamese boys, some as young as 6 years old. He has taught in Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam.

Neil is believed to be in Thailand where police are attempting to track him down through his network of friends.

Two Thai teenagers came forward Wednesday to testify that Neil had allegedly paid them for sex in 2003 and also showed them computer porn, said Police Maj. Gen. Wimon Pao-in. He said the two were 13 and 14 years old at the time.

((continues))

<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/10/17/childsex.suspect.ap/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/10/1...t.ap/index.html</a>

[george]

According to CNN Breaking News the man was arrested in Thailand this morning.

[george]

Thailand nabs paedophile suspect

BANGKOK: -- Canadian paedophile suspect Christopher Paul Neil, accused of raping young boys in Vietnam and Cambodia and unmasked by a unique Interpol Internet appeal, was arrested in Thailand on Friday, police said.

Neil, 32, was arrested in the early hours of the morning after a nationwide police manhunt. He fled South Korea to Thailand last week.

--Reuters 2007-10-19

[george]

Thai police arrest Canadian paedophile suspect

BANGKOK: -- A suspected Canadian paedophile who is the target of a global manhunt was arrested Friday in northeast Thailand, police said.

Christopher Paul Neil, 32, was captured a day after a Thai court issued a warrant for his arrest, in a search launched after police had successfully unswirled a digitally obscured photograph he had posted on the Internet.

He is accused by Interpol of sexually assaulting 12 boys and posting 200 pictures of the crimes on the Internet.

"He was arrested Friday by tourist police in northeastern Thailand," a senior police official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

--AFP 2007-10-19

[lopburi3]

Suspected Canadian pedophile caught in Nakhon Ratchasima

Thai police have arrested a suspected Canadian pedophile, wanted by Interpol, on Friday, a source said.

The source said Christopher Neil is already under police custody and will be brought to Bangkok later Friday.

More details will follow.

The Nation

[george]

Paedophile suspect Neil arrested

NAKHORN RATCHASIMA: -- A Canadian paedophile suspect who sparked a global manhunt has been arrested in Thailand, police say.

Christopher Paul Neil, a 32-year-old teacher, was arrested in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, a police spokesman said.

Police sought Mr Neil after identifying him as the man allegedly abusing young boys in a series of internet images.

He entered Thailand last week from South Korea, where he had been working as an English teacher.

--BBC 2007-10-19

[george]

Pedophile Suspect Arrested in Thailand

BANGKOK: -- The Canadian schoolteacher who became the world's most wanted suspected pedophile was arrested by police Friday in northeastern Thailand, police said.

``Bingo! We've got him,'' police Maj. Gen. Wimol Powintara told The Associated Press.

The suspect, 32-year-old Christopher Paul Neil, was arrested in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima and was expected to be brought to the capital, Bangkok, later in the day, Wimol said.

Neil was identified by Thai police this week after digitally scrambled images of a man who police said was him with victims were unscrambled and released by Interpol.

--AP 2007-10-19

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - A Canadian schoolteacher who is the subject of a global Interpol manhunt for alleged sexual abuse of at least a dozen young Asian boys may be avoiding arrest with the help of friends, Thai police said Thursday.

Thai authorities issued an arrest warrant Thursday for Christopher Paul Neil after determining he may have sexually abused boys in the kingdom, in addition to the dozen Cambodian and Vietnamese boys, some as young as 6, Interpol suspects he has abused.

At Thailand's request, Interpol issued an international wanted persons notice for Neil. The so-called ``Red Notice'' from the France-based international police agency will be circulated worldwide requesting the subject's arrest in order to be extradited.

Neil, 32, has taught at various schools in Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam since at least 2000.

Authorities say he flew to Thailand last week from South Korea, where he suddenly abandoned a teaching job. Cameras at the immigration counter captured his image as he arrived at Bangkok's international airport.

Thai police appear to have few leads on exactly where Neil might be, though they have expressed confidence he will not escape their dragnet.

Police Maj. Gen. Wimol Powintara said Neil lived in Thailand for nearly two years in 2002-2003 and is believed to have a wide network of friends and acquaintances in the country.

``That's one of the reasons why he is so hard to catch. He could be hiding in anyone's apartment or any obscure place,'' Wimol said at a news conference.

Wimol said the arrest warrant is based on the testimony of one boy, describing how the victim said he was lured from an Internet cafe by a Thai man who took him to Neil's apartment in Bangkok.

Wimol said posters of the suspect had been prepared and hotels and tourism agencies were asked to help in the search for Neil.

``He could be anywhere in Thailand,'' said Wimol. ``We appeal to the public and the media to help us look out for this man,'' he said.

Police said one of the focuses of their search is the town of Pattaya - a popular seaside resort about 70 miles southeast of Bangkok - known for its beaches, thriving sex industry and high crime rate.

Neil was identified by Thai police earlier this week after digitally scrambled images of him with victims were unscrambled and released by Interpol in an international manhunt.

Three Thai youths came forward Wednesday to tell police that Neil allegedly paid them to perform oral sex on him in 2003, Wimol said, adding that the Canadian also had sex with at least one other underaged male.

The boys said the suspect showed them pornographic images on his computer at his apartment in Bangkok, and paid them each $16 to $32 for sexual relations, Wimol said.

The boys got in touch with police after spotting Neil's photograph on television when his identity was revealed Tuesday by Thai authorities.

In Seoul, Choi Ki-hwan, an official at South Korea's National Police Agency, said Thursday that Neil first arrived in South Korea in 2000 and stayed for 4 years, based on records from the immigration office.

Police have not received any reports that Neil sexually molested children while in South Korea, Choi said.

The hunt for Neil began three years ago when German police discovered about 200 online photographs of a man sexually abusing children. His face was digitally obscured, but German police were able to reconstruct a recognizable image and Interpol circulated those images last week.

The suspect was identified with the help of hundreds of tips from people who responded to an appeal by Interpol for public assistance.

More clues about the suspect's background emerged with the discovery of a page on the social networking Web site MySpace that Interpol officials believe was kept by Neil.

``Been kicking around Asia for the past five years, teaching mainly and finding other forms of mischief,'' reads the profile, which describes him as ``5 feet, 11 inches tall, slim and slender.''

``I love teaching, can't get enough of it really,'' the entry says, going on to describe his passion for drama, musicals and karaoke.

Fiends have described Neil as outgoing and fun to be around. Co-workers at international schools gave mixed reviews of his teaching skills, but all described a man they believed to be harmless.

Before teaching in Asia, Neil had worked as a chaplain in Canada, counseling teens.

Canadian authorities have said they would seek his extradition. Canada has sex tourism laws allowing prosecution for crimes committed abroad.

-- AP

[george]

Thai police arrest suspected paedophile

BANGKOK: -- A Canadian paedophile suspect who was the target of a vigorous international hunt has been arrested in Nakorn Ratchasima, Thailand, 210 kilometres northeast of Bangkok, according to the local Interpol representative Friday.

The fugitive, Christopher Paul Neil, 32, a wandering English teacher, has been the focus of investigations on several continents after German police "uncoiled" his digitalling altered internet photographs that showed him abusing many young boys in Cambodia and Vietnam.

The Thai police issued an arrest warrant Thursday after a Thai boy came forward to accuse the Canadian of paying for oral sex.

"We've got him. I can't give you more details right now. We will be bringing him to Bangkok," said Lt. Col Apichart Suriboonya, a Thai official working for Interpol in Bangkok.

Neil fled a teaching post in South Korea last week after Interpol issued a red alert, its highest search signal, for him. He faces up to 20 years in jail in Thailand if convicted of abusing minors.

Canada also has laws allowing it to punish paedophiles for their activities in third countries.

Former colleagues have regaled reporters with evidence of an "unassuming character" who was a "diligent teacher."

But writings attributed to him on facebook and elsewhere show evidence of an arrogant character who offered advice about cleaning a computer of "dangerous" photographs and how to avoid character checks when applying for teaching jobs.

At least two young Thais said Neil abused them and paid them money after luring them to an apartment he used to rent in Bangkok several years ago, according to the Thai police.

The German police started investigating his activities when they discovered three years ago that his swirl-disguised picture was common to scores of internet images of his paedophile activities in Asia.

His family in Canada have urged him to give himself up.

--DPA 2007-10-19

[george]

Canadian pedophile arrested in Thailand

BANGKOK: -- The Canadian schoolteacher, who became the world's most wanted suspected pedophile was arrested by police Friday in Nakhon Ratchasima Friday.

The suspect, Christopher Paul Neil, will be brought to Bangkok later today.

The arrest came a few days after the suspect's image was splashed across media reports around the world.

Interpol released images of the alleged child molester, which were taken from Internet pictures that had masked the suspect behind a digitally created swirl.

Interpol investigators were able to use new technology to alter the image to allegedly resemble the original images, which they then released to the international media.

Thai police issued an arrest warrant on him on Thursday for kidnapping, illegal detention, and of molesting a 13-year-old Thai boy, four years ago.

Interpol tracked him from South Korea where he was an ESL teacher in Kwangju Foreign School. It asked cooperation from Thai police after he arrived at Bangkok this month.

Western media reported that Neil worked as a chaplain from 1998 to 2000 at an air cadet summer training centre in Nova Scotia and that his duties included spiritually advising children ages 12 to 18. No complaints were brought to commanding officers about Neil at the time.

Police allege the suspect has been going around the world preying on young boys and taking pictures of his encounters.

They allege he would then post the images on the Internet after digitally altering his face. Police have about 200 photos of a man with a dozen boys posted on the Internet in 2004, but likely taken in 2002 and 2003.

Interpol believes the photos were taken in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Fellow ESL teachers told Associated Presse that Neil made frequent postings to a popular online forum called Dave's ESL Caf้ under the pseudonym "Peter Jackson."

More than 300 postings under the name Peter Jackson were erased shortly before his disappearance, the Associated Press reported.

-- The Nation/Agencies 2007-10-19

[george]

Suspected Canadian paedophile arrested in northeast Thailand

BANGKOK: -- Following a flurry of publicity from Interpol and the Thai authorities, Thai police in the northeastern province of Nakorn Ratchasima (Korat) arrested a Canadian man, charging him with sexual crimes against children not only in Thailand but also in other Asian countries.

Reportedly photographing his victims, placing their pictures on the Internet, and offering them for sale gained 32-year-old Christopher Paul Neil high-profile attention around the world.

Identified as "the world's most wanted suspected paedophile," the Canadian national was apprehended in the residence of a Thai friend who had set up the suspects activities with Thai children, according to police.

Thai police nabbed Mr. Neil in Nakhon Ratchasima, some 200 kilometres northeast of Bangkok, the Thai capital.

Police will hold a press conference in Bangkok later Friday to reveal details of the matter.

The Canadian schoolteacher lived in Thailand for about two years from 2002, according to police. An arrest warrant was issued Thursday for Mr. Neil who is thought to have had illicit sexual relations with boys in Thailand, as well as with more than ten Cambodian and Vietnamese boys, some only six years old, according to Interpol.

Three Thai boys came to Thai police claiming Mr. Neil had abused them and showed them pornography on his computer.

The teacher has reportedly taught at several schools in Thailand, South Kora and Vietnam.

--TNA 2007-10-19