Australian Man Held On Thai Sex Charges

[chanchao]

This shoudl liven up this forum.. Anybody who knows or heard of this guy?

Thai police have arrested an Australian man accused of taking a young

girl away from her poor tribal family and sexually abusing her for four

years.

Christopher Ronald White, 46, from Perth, was arrested at his home in

Bangkok and was taken to the northern city of Chiang Mai, where the

girl's family had raised the alarm, police Captain Jeerawan Putanurak

said today.

He could be jailed for 20 years if convicted. The girl is now 16.

Her family, who belong to a hill tribe in neighbouring Chiang Rai

province near the Burmese border, told police that White had offered to

take their then 12-year-old daughter into his care in Bangkok.

He allegedly raped her there for years, Jeerawan said, Associated Press

reported. The girl is said to have met White when she was selling flowers at

night market in Chiang Mai.

The girl returned to her family last week and told them that White had

also forced her to have sex with his friends, Jeerawan said.

Chiang Mai, 680km north of Bangkok, is home to more than 20,000 hill

tribespeople. There have been several cases of hill tribe girls being

sexually abused by foreign tourists and Westerners who offer to

informally adopt the children.

White, who declined to speak with investigators, is being detained

pending further investigation and faces six charges, including raping a

girl under the age of 13 and illegally detaining the girl. He faces a

maximum sentence of 20 years in jail for the charge of raping an

underage girl, Jeerawan said.

White has been living in Thailand for more than five years. Jeerawan

said he claims he is a bomb expert who regularly gave lectures on the

explosives at several learning institutes in Thailand.

Other sources said that White had described himself as a former police

officer. He is expected to appear in a Chiang Mai court later this week.

A spokesman for the Australian embassy in Bangkok said the man had been

given consular assistance, as is usual in cases where Australian

nationals face serious criminal charges in a foreign country.

Chiang Mai is one of a number of Thai cities with a reputation for

attracting foreign paedophiles - and undercover police there often mix

with foreign nationals in private clubs known to be the haunts of men

attracted to under-age boys.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in Canberra said the

man was understood to have been arrested in Thailand yesterday.

"We are aware of reports of a 46-year-old Western Australian man

arrested in Thailand on the 23rd of August on charges relating to

sexual acts with a female under 13 years," a DFAT spokesman said.

Other reports from Chiang Mai said that the victim was a young boy.

"Consular officials from the Australian embassy in Bangkok are liaising

with the local authorities to provide consular assistance including

access to legal advice and representation."

The DFAT spokesman said the government treated any matters relating to

child sex offences very seriously.

"At the same time, the government will follow the legal process closely

to ensure that it is fair and conducted in accordance with local

practice," he said.

The alleged victim is said to be barely-educated.

Police sources said officers tracked the pair down after the family and

other workers at the night market gave a description of White to

authorities.

Police said the Australian tried to pass himself off as the child's

stepfather, and when found they were living together at an address in

central Bangkok

[BigMac]

He was often seen around CM a few years back. I last saw him a year or so ago having a beer at Cozy Corner with his mate NZ'er Alan the former owner of the Mango Tree on Loi Khroa Road.

He was always loud and full of bravado and obviously one not to be trusted. He claimed to be a former Police officer. Revealed on Australia TV today that he was a Sgt in the WA police force facing corruption charges before he resigned 8 years ago. Maybe he was able to fund his activities in Thailand with funds gained from his corrupt police lifestyle.

BigMac

[chuchok]

If he's not talking, it means he knows how the system works and that most crims give themselves away by opening their mouths.If he's guilty, I hope he rots in jail!

[george]

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