Former Senator Sentenced To 36 Years For Statutory Rape

[sibeymai]

this guy must have pissed off some other powerful people to have seen a day in court.

If I recall correctly he wasn't particularly well liked as Deputy Speaker. Also, he tried to use his position as a Senator to excape prosecution which was deemed to bring the Senate into disrepute. Basically he thought his "mates" (the other Senators) would back him up so if the dirt was ever spilled on them they could also claim Senate immunity. Unfortunaltely his fellow Senators threw him to the lions.

[qualtrough]

this guy must have pissed off some other powerful people to have seen a day in court.

My feelings exactly. I doubt we will ever know what really caused the courts to throw the book at him. Whatever the reason, it is good to see someone from that class receiving justice. It's a start...

[Pundi64]

Former 1st Vice President of the Senate, former Deputy Permanent Secretary for Interior, former Secretary-General of the Accelerated Rural Development Office, former Chairman of the Board of the Provincial Electricity Authority, former Chairman of the Board of Rajabhat Institute Surat Thani, and now thrice convicted statutory rapist Chalerm Phromlert

Ex-senator gets 36 years for child sex charges

Former senator Chalerm Phromlert was taken to Pathum Thani Prison after the Supreme Court yesterday upheld his 36-year jail term for statutory rape.

At Thanyaburi Provincial Court, Judge Samart Ardnarong presided over the verdict in a case filed against Chalerm by five girls - three under 15 and two over 15.

The court said Chalerm was clearly guilty. He was a well-known person who knew his actions were illegal and his appeal did not carry sufficient weight to clear him.

In 2002 the Criminal Court found Chalerm guilty of four counts of statutory rape from November 2000 to January 2001 and sentenced him to four years in prison on each count. Chalerm posted Bt1 million in assets as bail.

The Appeals Court in 2005 added 20 years - five for each of four counts of molestation that the lower court had not factored into its punishment - to Chalerm's 16-year sentence.

He had been freed on Bt2.5 million bail pending his final appeal to the Supreme Court.

- The Nation

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Previous article on the case: The Nation / January 20, 2005

Appeal yields 20 more years

Former senator Chalerm Phromlert got more than he bargained for when the Appeals Court yesterday not only upheld his statutory rape conviction, but also added 20 years to his 16-year sentence.

After hearing the verdict at Thanyaburi Provincial Court, Chalerm, 68, appeared calm and vowed to press his legal battle to the full extent of the judicial process.

Chalerm has yet to serve a day in jail. The court released him on Bt2.5 million bail pending his final appeal to the Supreme Court.

The parents of four underaged girls filed a series of police complaints against the senator in 2001.

The following year, the Criminal Court found him guilty of statutory rape in separate incidents from 2000 to 2001 and sentenced him to four years in prison for each of four counts.

The Appeals Court added on five years for each of four counts for molestation charges that the lower court had not factored into its punishment.

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*edit* Time for Chalerm has run out; after 6 years of freedom while he appealed his case, he was taken to prison yesterday and as he is 71 years old now, he'll be 107 when he sees freedom again.... if he serves his full sentence.

One more sniffing turd off the streets