American Arrested On Child Sex Charges In Chiang Mai

[hideki]

Another case occurs, this time with someone already convicted in Thai prison:

Glenn Richard Allen is arrested in 2007

Long-time Seattle resident charged in Thailand sex tourism case

June 22, 2010

KOMO News

SEATTLE -- A retiree from Seattle already imprisoned in Thailand is facing federal sex tourism charges on allegations that he bought sex from girls as young as 11.

Glenn Richard Allen, a 63-year-old raised in the Seattle area, was indicted in U.S. District Court earlier this month by a Seattle grand jury.

Federal authorities claim Allen was caught with 200 to 300 DVDs showing himself sexually abusing Thai children at his condominium in the resort town of Pattaya City, located outside of Bangkok.

Thai authorities investigating child prostitution in the country arrested Allen, a Canadian-born U.S. citizen, in 2007 alongside two British men and a Finnish citizen. Several girls identified Allen as having paid them for sex; four victims are identified in charging papers.

Already sentenced to 16 years in a Thai prison, Allen is accused of paying a "procurer" to bring children to him.

"Allen made it clear that he preferred females, approximately 12 years old," an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent investigating the case said in court documents, recounting the statements the "procurer" made to authorities.

"Allen also instructed her that if asked why she was bringing children to his residence to say that Allen was providing English lessons," the agent continued.

Thai investigators searching Allen's apartment found hundreds of homemade videos showing the abuse of the girls, the ICE agent told the court. No count of the number of children shown being abused was provided to the court.

Speaking with investigators, Allen said he'd moved to Thailand in 1997 after retiring from a communications equipment company. Records showed he returned to the Northwest several times a year prior to his arrest.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/96954524.html

[cup-O-coffee]

Most guys are competitive, and they like to contribute with something bigger and better to try to out-do the last guy. This thread is no exception.

Why this story?

What is the point?

Why is this important, or is there some agenda going on here?

Is it just because "Thailand" is mentioned in the article?

Is it a witch hunt, and we are all climbing over each others backs to plaster yet another, distinctively clear, race and gender profile?

Is it because most of us red-blooded men all feel guilty about when we were pre-teens and teenagers and acted out fantasies in the dark about Miss Whatsername, our school teacher; or perhaps our babysitter.

Major Point

You really have to click that link and take a good, long look at the numerous women who have done worse than what these (now) two guys in this thread are being accused of. Go ahead, and just do one thing; take note of your emotions when you look at these women. Do you feel rage. Do you want to chop them up into little pieces, or do horrible things to their genitals (or make strong implications), and all sorts of other things? Is it good for the goose too, and not just the gander?

If you look at even one of those women and even feel a slight bit of envy for the boys they sexually abused and raped, then you are a hypocrite outright, and this subject should be of singling out men; not of suspects who are charged with questionable crimes against minors. Of course, these females do go to Phuket and the Krabi areas, but where they really conglomerate for sex with boys is Europe and South America. But that is not Thailand, and anyway, we should not expect anytime soon to read or hear about an international female sexual predator because most of those boys around the world dream about it and would never tell anyone simply because no one would believe them. At least that is what the experts say.

And please consider my prior post about the culture here before you rebut that some of these men have been found guilty by the Thai courts. Please do not insult my intelligence.

This is all pointless. Why go after the buyer on the street, when big money pulls down hundreds of billions a year, and the natives to the countries that do this are predominately NOT white males? Take a good look at those countries. Almost half of those countries that gather the resource and transport and market are not even Anglo.

Thailand is mentioned.

How is it that Thailand is arguably the number one nation in the world for human trafficking and we nary get an article about a sting operation uncovering a bunch of nasty old pervert Thai men and women. How is it that this significant statistic is not considered. The answers are clear to me and they are far too numerous. One example would be the major one; that the press and the media (the tools of big money) are in the business of distracting us from the truth, because if the truth were mentioned then someone would have to do their job, and that someone is probably in it thicker than thieves.

So, the media and the press toss us idiot sheep a few bones now and then (maybe with a little gristle or gnawed meat on it) and expect us to be thankful that another white predator has got his comeuppance. So go on ahead with these frequent threads about the white guy who is making the news and TV scene yet again for an alleged crime against a minor. Go ahead and make it clear that the minnows make the front pages and the whales are the ones who never get theirs.

Frankly, I will be glad when all the white predators are all rounded up, because then all the children will be safe from harm forever! At least that is the propaganda image that the news and media are using. The same form of propaganda used in Mao's time when he was using the red-army to reclaim his leadership; and every other campaign throughout recent history. It's funny, we all recognize the power of propaganda through images, constant sound bytes, etc, but no one seems to note this when we see all the white, male faces and skin in the media. Everything else is called a campaign, but no one sees that it is not the sort of campaign that we want to see come out on top.

[yeno]

Why I got the feeling that all the pedos look the same. I could smell one from a thousand people, maybe more. I'm surprised some of them got cough at this age. God knows (and some other unfortunates) what he did all his life.

[march]

Why I got the feeling that all the pedos look the same. I could smell one from a thousand people, maybe more. I'm surprised some of them got cough at this age. God knows (and some other unfortunates) what he did all his life.

Does the latest look the same?

Paedophile suspect arrested in Thailand

Thursday, 01 July 2010

Phnom Penh Post

A Briton who headed a children’s charity in Phnom Penh has been arrested in Thailand for immigration offences, according to an anti-human trafficking organisation.

The arrest comes less than two weeks after a British tabloid published a story that David Fletcher, 65, was a paedophile who used his charity to gain access to young girls.

Steve Morrish, executive director of the Phnom Penh-based Southeast Asia Investigations into Social and Humanitarian Activities, or SISHA, said Wednesday that Thai authorities arrested Fletcher on Sunday at a guesthouse in Bangkok.

Morrish said Fletcher is being held because he failed to notify Thai immigration authorities of his previous criminal convictions in the UK.

Officials from SISHA and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) of the British Police alerted Thai authorities to Fletcher’s presence after receiving information concerning his whereabouts from sources who were tracking his movements, Morrish said.

"We’ve been investigating him for about 18 months," he said.

"We located him in Bangkok, after sources told us he’d fled there when news came out last week about him."

A SISHA press release stated that Fletcher entered Thailand on June 25 – five days after British tabloid The Sunday Mirror published a story claiming to expose him as a paedophile who used his unregistered charity, the Rubbish Dump Project, to befriend underage girls at Phnom Penh’s Stung Meanchey dumpsite.

Morrish said Fletcher is currently being held at a Thai immigration detention centre.

For two years, Fletcher has been under investigation by CEOP, as well as Cambodian authorities, SISHA and local child protection NGO Action Pour Les Enfants "for alleged sexual abuse of children in Cambodia", according to the SISHA press release.

Morrish noted that there have been no charges filed against Fletcher by Cambodian authorities. They are "all just allegations now,” he said. He added that if Fletcher has committed wrongdoing, he “needs to face up to what he’s done here”.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman could not be reached for comment Tuesday, and officials at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they were not aware of the case.

Fletcher was convicted in July 1997 on charges including having sex with a girl under the age of 16, indecent assault, taking an indecent photograph of a child and possessing a prohibited weapon, according to Norwich Crown Court in England.

In an interview last week after The Sunday Mirror article was published, Fletcher accused the media of exploiting his past.

“I made a mistake of having an affair with a girl a few months under age,” Fletcher wrote in an email. “The gutter press then as now took it out of context for greater circulation.”

Fletcher said he had “paid his dues” for his mistakes and denied committing any crimes in Cambodia. “As for using the dump to get access to girls, absolutely not,” he said.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010070140213/National-news/paedophile-suspect-arrested.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

and this is the referenced The Sunday Mirror article:

David Fletcher

British paedo running kids charity in Cambodia

20/06/2010

The Sunday Mirror

They are known as the ­rubbish dump kids… ­starving children who ­scavenge for scraps of food on a toxic mountain of waste.

He is a former hairdresser who runs a “charity” in Cambodia inviting you to send him money to save them.

David Fletcher, 65, appears to be the Good Samaritan, feeding hundreds of children who affectionately know him as “Papa”.

But Fletcher hides a dark secret – he was jailed in Britain for the ­statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl and videoing the horrific crime.

He now uses the guise of his unregistered charity in ­Cambodia – where he fled to six years ago – to spend every day with little girls, some as young as eight. The pervert raises money from tourists who believe they are providing food and shelter for the hundreds of poor and ­hungry children.

But a Sunday Mirror investigation can reveal how Fletcher has become ­worryingly close to a number of young girls – and spoke to our investigators of an eight-year-old he calls his “favourite little girl”.

Fletcher has even bought himself a 17-year-old Cambodian bride for £150 who he met on the dump – sold by her own mother to pay off debts. Genuine charities are so concerned they attempted to outbid him to keep the girl out of his clutches.

The Sunday Mirror joined Fletcher for one of his tours to the rancid rubbish tip on the outskirts of the capital Phnom Penh.

We met him at the Flora Bar where he had his hand inside the bra of a young ­Cambodian hostess and was ­happy to tell us: “She’s ­shaven, you know. That’s how I like them. No pubic hair. I prefer Cambodian girls. I tried ­Thailand first… went there for years, but here it’s much better. They’re more needy. You just have to be a little careful. I know I am being watched.”

He added: “My two grown-up sons have disowned me. They did not like the fact that my girlfriends were younger than theirs. Who cares? It’s their loss.”

Fletcher was convicted at Norwich Crown Court in July 1997 of the ­statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl who he had plied with champagne and offered £250 for sex.

He also admitted possessing offensive weapons. He was jailed for 18 months. At the time he ran a series of ­hair-dressing salons in Cambridge and Saffron Walden. When he was released from jail, he fled Britain.

When asked about his conviction he was unapologetic, saying: “Oh yes. She was just my girlfriend. They caught me. I just did it ahead of her 16th ­birthday. People will stoop very low to say bad things about me.”

Fletcher runs the Rubbish Dump Project and has a website which tells the moving story of Phnom Penh’s ­garbage dump kids. He invites readers to send donations to his private bank account and claims every penny is spent on the children.

The Sunday Mirror signed up for a tour of the dump and handed over US$50, the amount Fletcher says will feed 150 children.

When we got to the garbage mountain at Stung Meanchey on the outskirts of the capital he took a cream bun and some fruit to “my favourite little girl”.

With his tuk-tuk driver he dished out fruit to more than 100 desperate children amid the stench. The slum families try to survive on what they can scavenge, so flock to him when he has food.

The pervert preys on their desperation, building up the ­children’s trust – ­including his 17-year-old bride-to-be Yang Dany, who he met at the tip.

We accompanied him to Yang Dany’s home with a special bag of goodies for her mum.

“I’m planning to marry her when the time is right,” he said. “Where can a man like me get a girl like this?”

Earlier in the day our investigators saw British-born Scott Neeson, who runs the respected charity ­Cambodian ­Children’s Fund, try to persuade Yang Dany’s mother to change her mind about letting her daughter marry Fletcher.

Inside the corrugated shack in ­Dhamnak Thom Village No. 1, Mr Neeson, tried to negotiate with the mother.

Khaeng Sokun, 58, lost her first ­husband and baby twin daughters in the “Killing Fields” of the Khmer Rouge.

Now she is about to unwittingly give her daughter to a convicted British paedophile for £150 ($200) to help clear her debts.

She said: “But we owe $600. How else can I pay this off? Dany wants to help her family. Her future husband is a good man. She feels sorry for him. He comes here and gives everybody food.”

Scott says he will help the family with their debts and begs her to reconsider.

Scott, 51, said: “People like Fletcher are a continuous source of worry. There is little doubt Fletcher devotes his time here to befriending young girls.

“He tells their parents he wants to adopt them, care for them. They think because he gives out food he is good. But he is grooming them.

“The fact is that these children can be bought. It’s difficult to stop it. The British Embassy have been told about Fletcher. Many organisations have files on him, but nothing has happened.”

The abuse of children by ­foreigners in ­Cambodia is hampered by ­institutionalised corruption in a one-party state run by Hun Sen, who has locked up ­opposition leader Sam ­Rainsy.

Cambodia has become the favoured destination for paedophiles after ­several crackdowns on sex tourism by the ­authorities in neighbouring Thailand.

Last week the Sunday Mirror revealed that teacher Gary Robcoy became the first Brit to be deported from Thailand because of his paedo convictions in the UK.

In contrast only a handful of foreign tourists languish in Cambodian jails for sex offences, despite a thriving child sex industry. Police take pay-offs to release ­foreigners on child sexual abuse charges and most cases are settled with cash payments to victims.

Fletcher used to run his charity from a bar called “Bogie and Bacall” but the two Australian colleagues he had quickly left.

One of them, Ross Wright, said: “We decided to go our own way. He never once showed us the bank account into which donations were going.

"There were tens of ­thousands of dollars ­coming in. Cash was ­being donated by Rotary Clubs and big private ­donors. We also had ­complaints of him being too familiar with young girls.”

Fletcher is now being investigated by Britain’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, which has officers in South East Asia.

CEOP, part of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, has established a ­presence there in the last two years and is ­working with Cambodian police.

A spokesman said: “We are aware of complaints about David Fletcher and have been in ­discussion with the ­authorities.”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/06/20/british-paedo-running-kids-charity-in-cambodia-115875-22345300/

[cup-O-coffee]

Nice article, but back to the OP and the underlying problems with this entire, three-ringed circus:

Articles say "reports (plural) surfaced". The main point is the 10 year old girl made a report (singular)

One story claims it happened at his guesthouse

Another story claims it happened in a local school

Someone's wife mentioned that the Thai TV news said the girls mother took her (the girl) to the farang's room. This is another case that the Thais refuse to answer to:

United Nations Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children; Questionnaire to Governments: Thailand

The family/ home

The most recent law relevant to family and home is the Child Protection Act of 2003. The Penal Code put harsher punishments for the offenders of sexual offences (including rape, and indecent acts) if offenders have close relationship with the victims, as Section 285 states "If the commission of offence … is against the descendant, a pupil under taken his care, a person under his control according to his official authority, or a person under his tutorship, guardianship, the offender shall be liable to the heavier punishment than that as provided in such Section by one third."

So, investigators received a report from the alleged victim (a report from a 10 year old girl). This young girl suddenly ups and decides to go to the local police and make a report. Hmm!

Allegations:

The farang made her engage in sexual acts over the last two years

The farang molested her several times over the last two years.

Somehow we next jump way down the list to, "The police found evidence pointing out that this abuse took place at the alleged school" (forensic? Other?). Then…

He was apprehended (was the guy on the run?) and arrested by Anti-Human Trafficking Division police? Huh? The guy is also a human trafficker? How did they happen to be in this remote place at the time of the report? And what is the difference between a successful and unsuccessful arrest?

There seems to be a real problem with the time frames here. From the time the girl reported this, to the time the guy was arrested, I will wager that there were compulsory legal requirements that were not carries out by the authorities.

The suspect has denied all charges "leveled" against him (They are leveling things against him. Why the aggressive tone here with so much biased and incertain information?)

Investigators continue to maintain that they have overwhelming evidence against him (Which translates out to the fact that they are not able to answer legitimate questions as to the guilt of the suspect, and instead say they have things but will not disclose them. This is called stalling where I come from – perhaps waiting for a bit of money? Nahh, these police are above that sort of thing.)

The police brought Mr Holley to search his residence (didn't find anything the first time?)

A search of Mr. Holley's residence will be conducted later this week (Gonna go back and find something after ti drops out of the pocket of one of the officers – IF they do not get any money from the accused?)

In an attempt to uncover further evidence of the suspect's involvement in paedophilic acts. ("Further" evidence – meaning they do not have enough at present? Even though they are remiss to mention what evidence they have in their possession at present?)

The investigators are confidence that they have strong evidence to take legal action against him. (Really? Well anyone has the right to take legal action against anyone. The question remains whether or not that legal action will result in the accused being detained or let go, or tried and acquitted!)

A 10 year old girl randomly shows up at police headquarters (article does not mention how she got there and if she was accompanied) after two years of being molested and being a victim of sexual acts.

She makes a report and the following laws are adhered to, right?

According to Thai law; Did the officer, first to come in contact with the child, immediately called the "Child-Friendly Procedure" team, and when that team arrived. didi they take the girl to the child-friendly room (required to be in every police station), and was she was interviewed, in accordance to law, by a trained child psychologist. on video tape. and the tape passed on to the prosecutor. I doubt it!

Was the girl was immediately taken to a trained doctor who then examined her for signs of abuse, etc etc etc? I doubt it!

This is, so far, all being carried out by the police. By the time the "experts" get involved, there will be so much mishandling of evidence and testimony that this will be thrown out.

The Criminal Procedure Code Amendment Act (No. 20), B.E. 2542 (1999)

BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ, REX. Given on the 4th September B.E. 2542 (1999) Being the fifty fourth year of the present Reign

Section 3

These provisions shall be added to be Section 133 bis and Section 173 ter of the Criminal Procedure Code.

"Section 133 bis: If a child not over fifteen years of age is needed to give a statement as a witness,

the inquiry official shall take the statement of the child in a room specifically arranged for this purpose. The inquiry shall be done in secrecy and separate from other adults. A psychologist, social worker, or another person whom the child requests to be present at the inquiry, shall participate in the inquiry. Such inquiry shall be recorded on video and audio tape to be use as evidence.

If the prosecutor believes that it is appropriate, the prosecutor may participate in the process of statement taking of such child.

Section 172 ter: If the witness in a case is a child not over fifteen years of age, and the judge thinks

it is appropriate, the judge may arrange for the witness to sit in another apart from the trial room. The judge and all parties in the case may examine, cross-examine, or re-examine the child witness through a psychologist or social worker. The sight and sound of the examination and testimony of the witness shall be televised to the trial room through a video link."

Section 4

"In the case that such offender is charged and if the offender is indicted on the charged offence, the offender shall have the right to request a counsel to be appointed by the court under Section 173, before the witness give the testimony, the court shall ask the offender whether the offender has a counsel. In the case that the offender has no counsel and require one, if the court can appoint a counsel in due time, the court shall appoint a counsel for the offender and proceed immediately with the testimonial process. If the court cannot appoint a counsel in due time or the offender cannot appoint a counsel, the court shall examine such witness on behalf of the offender.

In the case that the witness is a child not over fifteen years of age, in the examination of such child witness the provision of Section 172 ter. shall apply mutatis mutandis

Section 172 ter If the witness in a case is a child not over fifteen years of age, and the judge thinksit is appropriate, the judge may arrange for the witness to sit in another apart from the trial room. The judge and all parties in the case may examine, cross-examine, or re-examine the child witness through a psychologist or social worker. The sight and sound of the examination and testimony of the witness shall be televised to the trial room through a video link."

[Poster's note: In accordance with the above law...]

CHILD-SENSITIVE PROCEDURES FOR CHILDREN – THAILAND [Poster's note: pages 10-19 of this link are very interesting and possibly condemning to this investigation]

Thailand: Attorney Wanchai Roujanawong, Director General, Department of Juvenile Observation and Protection, Ministry of Justice Ms. Kitiya Phornsadja, Project Officer, Child Protection, UNICEF Thailand

2000: Child-sensitive procedures included in the revised Criminal Procedures Act A significant legislative change was the 1999 Criminal Procedures Act, which came into force in September 2000. This was coupled with the 2000 Regulation on Protection of Children`s Rights in Criminal Cases.

Procedures under the new law make videotaped deposition of child victims, witnesses, and offenders compulsory and allow the Court to arrange for video-links. In addition, it prevents the child from enduring repeated questioning and suffering the trauma of having to give his/her testimony repeatedly and having to face the abusers.

According to the law, persons who are compelled to be present either at the investigation or court hearings of child offenders are: • child offenders; • children's advocate/counsels; • psychologists or social workers; • prosecutors; and • the police.

Only a qualified social worker or psychologist can question children. However, a derogation can be granted in extremely urgent cases with reasonable cause, if the inquiry official cannot wait for a psychologist or social worker.

2003: Further revision of the Criminal Procedures Act

The mechanisms and systems set up to provide child-friendly procedures for all children in contact with the justice system, as provided by the Act of 1999, have become over burdened. The workload of courts, police, social workers has expanded and there is a fear that this could adversely affect the quality of interviews and investigation. As a result a revision of the Act is currently underway. Under the proposed revision, all child victims would continue to have access to child-friendly procedures. However, it is suggested that child-sensitive procedures would not automatically be applied in cases of serious offences, even if the offender is a child. However, exclusion would only be possible with a court order and only if the child admitted his/her guilt. It should be noted that under the 1999 Constitution all children still have the right to request child-sensitive procedures.

Problems encountered

In the implementation of the Act, a number of challenges and difficulties have been encountered.

• Delays were experienced for implementation of activities under the Act due to restructuring within the Ministry of Justice and lingering budget effects of the economic crisis of 1997.

• Technical and structural challenges also delayed implementation such as difficulty in installing equipment and in arranging interviewing rooms and courtrooms appropriately.

• A lack of professional psychologists and social workers resulted in having to reduce the qualifications for eligibility to undertake the 21-day training on child-sensitive procedures and become registered with the justice system.

• Courts have been reluctant to use the new system, primarily because they did not believe in its sustainability. However, the situation has improved over the years due to strong advocacy efforts and training.

• Police have made complaints regarding the new procedures, primarily because they have resulted in increased caseloads. Although in some cases the social worker or psychologist manages to make the environment more suitable for children, it does occur that police continue to ask questions in a very investigative and 'tough' manner.

• Contrary to the best interests of the child and the law itself 'consultants' are sometimes used to film investigations, including the questioning of the children. These 'consultants' have yet to be trained sufficiently on ways to raise questions appropriately when dealing with children.

• Between 6 to 10 cases per day in each court are dealt with using the new child-sensitive procedures. [Poster's note: Does this mean 6 to 10 cases of foreign sexual offenses against children? No? Well, someone is sitting in the acuused chair; right?]

• Further training of police in child questioning techniques is needed.

• Children, especially child offenders, have difficulty trusting the police, and the fact that the police do not always use appropriate language with children does not help this situation. If questioning is done incorrectly, the process of questioning and taking statements can have serious impacts on the mental health of children, and may result in incorrect statements during the inquiry.

A few posters harp about the child being the victim, and everyone overlooking the victim in their pursuit of the alleged suspect. I agree.

The fact that the above mentioned methods are not engaged immediately after a person steps forward and makes such an allegation tells me that the Thai legal system is not interested in the physical and mental safety of the alleged victim.

They are not interested in embracing the laws that now exist in the Thai books that compel a thorough, professional handling of allegation of such serious magnitude. Why? They have too many cases! How absolutely pathetic. A half-decent lawyer will eat tear this case to shreds. And, again, the child will suffer when it goes back home to mommy and daddy.

To the mother and father:

Legislation of INTERPOL member states on sexual offences against children; Thailand - Thaïlande – Tailandia; Bangkok

Section 10 of the 'Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act' states

'Whoever is the father, mother, or guardian of a person not yet over eighteen (18) years of age, with the knowledge that there is the commission of the offence as specified in the second third, or fourth paragraph of Section 9 against the person within his or her guardianship, colludes with another offender in the commission of that offence, shall be punished with imprisonment of four to twenty years, and a fine of eighty thousand to four hundred thousand baht.'

Section 12 of the 'Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act' states

'Whoever detains or confines the other person, commits any other act that deprives the liberty of the other person, assaults the other person, or threatens with any other means to use physical force to commit a violent act against the other person, in order to force the other person to perform the prostitution activity, shall be punished with imprisonment of ten to twenty years, and a fine of two hundred to four hundred thousand baht.

If the commission of the offence as specified in the first paragraph causes to the other person:

1) serious bodily injury, the offender shall be punished with life imprisonment.

2) death, the offender shall be punished with the death penalty or life imprisonment.

And...

United Nations Secretary-General's Study on Violence against Children; Questionnaire to Governments: Thailand

The family/ home: The most recent law relevant to family and home is the Child Protection Act of 2003. The Penal Code put harsher punishments for the offenders of sexual offences (including rape, and indecent acts) if offenders have close relationship with the victims, as Section 285 states "If the commission of offence … is against the descendant, a pupil under taken his care, a person under his control according to his official authority, or a person under his tutorship, guardianship, the offender shall be liable to the heavier punishment than that as provided in such Section by one third."

A little research into this will show that, at a very high level, Thailand seems to be trying to incorporate better child protection laws. At most of the lower levels, however, these new laws and impending laws are not being embraced due to police corruption (bribery, blackmail, extortion, etc.), involvement in human trafficking and prostitution, zero or minimal training in child sensitivity and protection laws, and the procedures necessary and needed in order to conduct a thorough and professional investigation into crimes of a serious nature.

I am not focusing on whether or not the man is innocent. I am focusing on the mechanism of justice that survives only to perpetuate itself; a mechanism that is fertile to this sort of behavior that typifies the worst nature in humans. It is a tragedy of errors.

[ALRC Statement] THAILAND: An analysis of Thailand's non-compliance with its international human rights obligations - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, May 21, 2010, ALRC-CWS-14-04-2010

[Poster's note: this link is also very interesting and possibly condemning to this investigation and how it has been, and is being handled.]

Not only has the Government failed to make changes to measures for declaration of a State of Emergency, but it has used the emergency regulations with increasing frequency, alongside a host of other draconian regulations to ensure that operations under the cover of emergency are not subject to constraints as envisaged under the Covenant. It has continued to guarantee impunity to state officers engaged in these operations. It has not made changes to laws concerning extended detention without external safeguards under emergency provisions; nor has it made changes to laws that allow for detention of suspects in ordinary criminal cases for up to 85 days with minimal judicial oversight.

PARA.15: "The State party should guarantee in practice unimpeded access to legal counsel and doctors immediately after arrest and during detention. The arrested person should have an opportunity immediately to inform the family about the arrest and place of detention. Provision should be made for a medical examination at the beginning and end of the detention period. Provision should also be made for prompt and effective remedies to allow detainees to challenge the legality of their detention. Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge must be brought promptly before a judge. The State party should ensure that all alleged cases of torture, ill-treatment, disproportionate use of force by police and death in custody are fully and promptly investigated, that those found responsible are brought to justice, and that compensation is provided to the victims or their families."

Despite becoming a party to the Convention against Torture, the Government has failed to make changes to domestic law that would prevent the incidence of torture, punish torturers or provide redress to victims in accordance either with that Convention or with the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Alleged cases of torture, ill-treatment and death in custody are not investigated in a manner that brings any of the perpetrators to court or secures convictions. At present, a case pending against a number of police officers accused of torturing and killing detainees in Kalasin Province has resulted in the deaths of a number of witnesses: pointing also to the sabotage of earlier steps taken towards a regime of victim and witness protection in Thailand. Not only has the Government of Thailand failed to do anything to address this situation, but it is in denial about the scale of the problem, its Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva himself describing the assertion that the police are the top abusers of human rights in Thailand as "unsubstantiated".

"It's not what you know but what you can prove"

Edited July 2, 2010 by cup-O-coffee

[Somrak]

Why The Nation does not do look first in the Thai backyard before they bring “bad alien news” like this all the time!? A hidden agenda!?

I did learn from “3 Reich History”, that this form of looking for “alien” culprits not will end well!

Please TN, be objective and do not treat us same as “jews”.

In a lot of “Forums” they name you “Stuermer” already, about your nationalistic views.

PS In a lot of “Forums” they name you “Stuermer” already, about your nationalistic views.I hope you will show in the future, that this is not true.

[march]

Why The Nation does not do look first in the Thai backyard before they bring “bad alien news” like this all the time!? A hidden agenda!?

Please TN, be objective and do not treat us same as “jews”.

Does that also apply to the other news outlets (eg. from the USA, Cambodia, and the UK) that have had their reports posted in this thread?

[JackSterling]

Thanks.. I am really ashamed for all Americans who come here to do this sort of thing. I hope he can sit a long time behind bars thinking on what he had done to others.

Edited May 2, 2011 by JackSterling

[moe666]

Thoughtful post cup-o-coffee. There are disturbing things about all of this, especially considering the continuing failure of Thailand to do anything sensible about the current lack-of-governmental mess it is in right now. I don't trust many of the NGO's that purport to be fighting this. In Asia, it's too easy for this to get twisted around, with the locals in collusion with the NGO's for profit and gain. A disturbing report on another blog that talks to this point: NGO Pedophilia controversy heats up in Cambodia

I'm also married to a Thai lady and we have a 12 y.o. son (by her Thai husband, whom she kicked out of the house years ago). We have a close relationship as a family and I don't want the kind of speculation and false accusations that the seemingly bottomless corruption in SE Asia is capable of generating for profit. It's why he's getting an overseas education, and will eventually be able to look back on his own culture with educated, independent eyes...

Thank you. You probably realize that the news used to be purely objective. It was designed to create a forum where people would come together and used the facts from the reported story and form their own conclusions. Now, it seems, the news not only reports events, but also weaves-in their personal opinions and bias so that the uneducated reader becomes emotionally charged if their thoughts are unchecked before reading. Anyone in the know realizes that most media informing agencies are now simply tools for a means to an end; no longer a resource for objective reporting that educates and allows the reader to form their own view. It's amazing that this is not an issue unto itself and something that is brought before the people; but then again, it must be a clear statement of the apathy this world is in the grips of. Information is food, but it is wise to be taught how to use a nutritious diet before going to the smorgasbord. I fear these current generations lack the ability to reason out information using logic, elementary deduction, and outside-the-box thinking. Taking things at face value just because it is all dressed up with sound-bytes and the reporter is wearing a suit seems to be good enough for today's youth and the embittered, hateful aged.

In the mean time, the culprits get away with murder and robbery, and the media covers their six by veiling the truth and distracting with mindless entertainment, and the governments form laws of censure to protect the plunderers, and the readers pop more pharmaceuticals and alcohol from all the stress from too much "fear-mongering" about stupid reporting on things that will affect us in a 1000 years. LOL.

Incidentally, in the spirit of the OP and my initial response, our next door neighbor, a Thai woman, just kicked her Thai husband out of the house. They had just had a baby together. They have been married for 7 years. He is seeing another Thai woman at his work place, in a sexual affair. The mother's family supports the husband's extra-marital affair. The mother is made out to be the bad person. She finally gave in to pressure and took him and the baby to the woman's house, and said, "Here, if you think you can take better care of my husband and my baby than I can, then take them. And do not let him come back to me." She then left the three of them there and went home. So how do you rate that, culturally? The poor misunderstood Thai man gets to be a gigolo (because he can) and gets off the hook with the support of his family, instead of working out things with his wife and the mother of his child. Regarding the OP, this is a clear demonstration of what any Farang could not do, and the results would make the morning headlines in some trumped of story. No comment needed because I wish to respect the OP.

The news has never been objective, various people have been slamming news papers for over 100 years and probably more.

[HaleySabai]

There is another recent case in CM of a 90yrs old man being charged for some kind of sexual abuse, apparently he was conducting english lessons and claims at no time did her parents leave the room....... perhaps word got out about the potential for easy money by extorting old and helpless farang by using their young and helpless children..... amazing, what will they think of next!

[gerry1953]

 I took the time to read 15 pages of replies from this horrible incident about 9 years ago does anyone know the outcome of child sexual assault charges or if he was even convicted?  Most countries would make information available for follow up but nothing seems to happen here even after plastering his name in major newspapers, I researched but found nothing at all.  I hope it wasn't a case of the accused paying off the family (and child) and other parties to escape conviction.

 

[BoBoTheClown]

On 6/18/2010 at 3:00 PM, Markaew said:

Why did the girl wait till after multiple events before complaining? Why not the first time? Thai authorities always seem to have overwhelming evidence. We are either not getting all the facts or something just isn't right about this story.

The victim is just 10 years old. 

[jvs]

14 minutes ago, BoBoTheClown said:

The victim is just 10 years old. 

The victim will be 19 years old now.