Fugitive American Child Pornographer Arrested In Thailand

[sriracha john]

Missing Child Porn Suspect Found Teaching Boys In Bangkok

ORLANDO, Fla. -- An Orlando man wanted on child porn charges was found teaching at a boy's school in Thailand, according to police.

James Betts, 51, disappeared after deputies found 184 nud_e images and movies of underage children on his computer in 2003.

Betts turned over the material, but vanished before his trial.

A four-year search for Betts led officers to Bangkok where he was teaching children at a boy's school. He was captured and taken into custody.

"It was very difficult to find him and very time consuming," Orange County Sgt. Kevin Stenger said. Stenger said Betts was in possession of pornography of young boys between the ages of 12 and 14 years old.

"You can run, but you cannot hide," Stenger said. "We will eventually find you and get you back. We were all very happy when we found out he was on a plane on the way back to the United States."

The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Marshals were involved in Bett's capture, Local 6 reported.

- WKMG Television News (Orlando, Florida, USA)

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Child Porn Suspect Caught In Thailand After Vanishing In 2004

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- An Orange County man who disappeared in the middle of a child porn investigation three years ago was found teaching young boys overseas.

In 2004, James Betts allegedly emailed child porn to a detective he thought was a 14-year-old boy.

Betts disappeared before his case went to trial, but investigators have since tracked him to a school for boys in Thailand, where he was teaching.

Betts is being extradited to Central Florida.

- WFTV Television News (Orlando, Florida, USA)

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Central Florida Child Porn Suspect Found In Thailand

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A child pornography suspect may soon be on his way back to Central Florida from the other side of the world.

James Betts was arrested in 2004 and charged with 184 counts of child pornography, but Betts disappeared weeks before his trial.

Police have recently found him working as a teacher at an all-boys school halfway across the world in Thailand.

The former Orange County resident was originally arrested on charges of possession of child pornography, but they said they found evidence through on-line chat room conversations and e-mails that he used his pilot's job to lure children and befriend their families. They said he took photos with the children, and while none of the photos show those children in sexually explicit poses, detectives think some of those children were molested.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office held a news conference Monday afternoon about his return.

A detective with the OCSO said they have worked hard on this case since Betts disappeared four years ago. After connecting him to a post office box near his parents' home in Colorado, they were able to track him down in Thailand.

"I do have reason to believe he did engage in sex with children whether it was in the United States or overseas since he did express a particular interest in the Asian countries," Sgt. Kevin Stenger of the OCSO said.

Authorities said Betts will face an extradition hearing in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning and, after that, will be returned to Orange County to face trial on the 184 counts of child pornography possession.

Betts is also facing a new federal indictment as a fugitive from justice.

Though his wife was living with him in Thailand, authorities said she is so far not facing charges.

- WESH Television News (Orlando, Florida, USA)

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Orange County man wanted for child porn found in Thailand

ORANGE COUNTY -- A man wanted since 2004 on child pornography charges in Orange County has been tracked to Thailand.

Authorities say an an officer from an agency in the northeast US was working undercover on line as a 14 year old boy.

The agent made contact with suspect James J. Betts who at the time was an Orange County resident. Mr. Betts sent several child pornography e-mails to the agent who in turn contacted the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

A search warrant was issued and Mr. Betts home was searched. Mr. Betts confessed and provided several floppy discs containing child pornography to detectives. Mr. Betts was arrested and charged with 184 counts of child pornography.

Several weeks before his trial Mr. Betts disappeared.

His wife stayed behind, sold the home, and then left Florida.

After several years of searching for the suspect he was located in Thailand, where he was teaching at a school for boys.

Mr. Betts was deported by Thailand Immigration and transported to Los Angeles where he was arrested and booked by Los Angeles County Officials. He is now awaiting extradition to Florida.

- Scripps News

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James John Betts, 51, who is wanted on child pornography charges, was found teaching at a school for boys.

Orange County Sheriff's Office

Orlando man wanted on child porn charges found in Thailand

An Orlando man wanted on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography is awaiting extradition.

Thailand officials discovered James John Betts, 51, teaching at a school for boys, Orange County Sheriff's Office reports show.

Betts had been on the run for more than four years. In 2004, he turned himself over to authorities after deputies found 241 nud_e images and movies of underage children in his computer. Court records show he was charged with 184 counts of child pornography.

Deputies said that weeks before his trial, Betts disappeared.

Sheriff's reports show that an undercover agent with the Keene Police Department in New Hampshire had chatted with Betts in a Yahoo chat room in 2003. The agent, who had posed as a 14-year-old boy, said Betts had sent him 13 images of nud_e juvenile boys, the arrest report shows.

A search of Betts home computers in Jan. 2004 revealed hundreds of images and movies of children engaged in sex, as well as transcripts of chat sessions between Betts and other users who identified themselves as juveniles.

"In the chats, the suspect discusses sex with the juveniles and expresses a desire to meet with them," the report shows.

Betts turned himself in to the Orange County Jail on Feb. 2004. But court records show he disappeared before his Sept. 2004 trial.

- Orlando Sentinel newspaper (Orlando, Florida, USA)

[smilia]

How did this escape the Thai News?

I have my news.google paged customised to pick up news about Thailand.

Florida Child Porn Suspect News Link

This came up from Fox news. yes I know I know..im not a fox news fan.....

Why am I not allowed to post in the news forum?

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) – Police say he is a child pornographer. Now he's back in the United States in a jail cell after fleeing overseas to escape prosecution.

A former Orange County, Florida resident is awaiting extradition from California to Orlando, where he will face charges of child pornography. The capture of James J. Betts, 51, ends a four year search which involved several federal agents and law enforcement officers from multiple states.

Betts' trouble begain in 2004. An officer with the Keene Police Department in Keene, Vermont was working undercover on the internet. Posing as a 14 year old boy, the agent made contact with Betts, who at the time was living in Orange County.

According to reports, Betts sent several pornographic images of minors through e-mails to the agent, who in turn contacted the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

A search warrant was issued and Betts’ home searched. Betts confessed and provided several floppy discs containing child pornography to detectives. Betts was arrested and charged with 184 counts of child pornography. Several weeks before his trial, he disappeared. His wife stayed behind, sold the home and left Florida.

"I do have reason to believe he did have sex with under age children, whether in the U.S. or overseas," said Sgt. Kevin Stenger, with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, who has been trying to find Betts ever since.

After several years of searching for the suspect he was eventually located half a world away in Thailand, where he was teaching at a school for boys.

Stenger worked with the feds to track Betts' passport and pilot's license. A change of address on the pilot's license led them to Thailand, and the State Department got involved. "Agents were able to locate Betts and discovered he was actually working as a teacher at a school," Stenger said.

Betts was deported by Thailand immigration authorities and transported to Los Angeles where he was arrested and booked by Los Angeles County Officials.

Stenger says Betts was a pilot and would offer to take children on flights while he chatted with them online. Detectives hope the Betts' next flight will take him back to Orlando. That could happen by the end of the week, if he does not fight extradition.

Detectives say Betts could also face Federal charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, by bolting before his trial.