Swede Faces Child Sex Charge In Cambodia

[sriracha john]

Swede faces child sex charge in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- A Swedish national arrested in Cambodia on child sex charges says he did not sexually assault a 12-year-old boy as alleged by authorities.

Varg Gyllander, a representative of the Swedish police's National Investigation Department, said the Stockholm resident, whose identity was not reported, has been transferred to a detention center in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, the news agency TT/The Local said Friday.

"What we're doing now is making sure that the Cambodian police receive the help they need from us. We'll help them out as best we can," Gyllander said of the sex crimes case.

Gyllander added the man, who was arrested Wednesday, has previously been accused of other child sex crimes.

"All we can say is that he's known for similar crimes from before," he said of a 2008 child sex crimes investigation in Cambodia that was focused on the Swedish national.

TT/The Local said Seila Samelang of the Action Pour Les Enfants non-governmental organization alleges the man had been living with five boys prior to his arrest.

- UPI / 2009-05-08