American Pleads Guilty To Child Sex Charges While In Thailand

[sriracha john]

Provided as a follow-up to the closed thread:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Alleged-Paed...le-t187337.html

Have You Seen This Alleged Pedophile

which contained these photos of the perpetrator....

This photo released the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency shows ICE agents, their faces digitally altered by the source, escorting suspected pedophile Wayne Nelson Corliss, 58, center, from his apartment building in Union City, New Jersey after his arrest. Corliss was arrested just two days after Interpol made a rare appeal for public help in the international manhunt to catch him, the police agency said.

Associated Press

NJ actor focus of child-porn manhunt pleads guilty

NEWARK, N.J. - A small-time New Jersey actor admitted in federal court Tuesday that he traveled to Thailand on several occasions to film himself having sex with boys as young as 6 years old.

Wayne Nelson Corliss faces up to 75 years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts, including production and possession of child pornography and traveling to foreign countries to engage in illicit sexual activities.

U.S. District Judge Joseph A. Greenaway Jr. scheduled sentencing for Feb. 9.

"This is undoubtedly among the most depraved conduct we've seen, with the extent of the victimization," said Michael Drewniak, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark.

Corliss, 59, a part-time actor from northern Jersey, has been described by friends and colleagues as an educated, witty man who made extra money by dressing up as Santa Claus and painting faces at children's parties.

He was arrested in May, 48 hours after Interpol made a public plea for help identifying a man seen in pictures seized in Norway in 2006. Once the request was made, leads received in the first 24 hours helped authorities find Corliss in his Union City apartment.

In his plea before Greenaway on Tuesday, Corliss admitted corresponding by e-mail with John Wrenshall, a Canadian citizen living in Thailand who set up a "sponsorship" system in which Corliss and other men could pay him up to $200 for access to boys as young as 4 years old.

Corliss admitted staying at Wrenshall's home with two other Americans, Alabama residents Mitchell Jackson and Burgess Lee Burgess, in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and having sex with the boys and filming the activities. He admitted performing oral sex on two boys, one aged 6 and another aged 9, during the visits.

Burgess and Jackson have been indicted and are awaiting trial in Alabama, and authorities are continuing to investigate Wrenshall, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The white-haired, bespectacled Corliss, wearing a green prison jumpsuit, answered Greenaway's questions briefly and in a soft voice during the 45-minute hearing. He began sobbing at one point while Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Vartan read off the details behind each of the criminal counts, but eventually composed himself.

The most serious count, producing child pornography, carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years. The three counts of traveling abroad for illicit sexual activities each carry a 15-year maximum sentence, and possession of child pornography has a 10-year maximum sentence.

Each count also includes a fine up to $250,000.

Chester Keller, a public defender representing Corliss, did not respond to a telephone message left at his office Tuesday seeking comment.

- Associated Press / October 28, 2008