AFP
October 18, 2007
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ia1bRfdwlu4QABqrju17jAwH2c7w
BANGKOK — Thailand issued an arrest warrant Thursday for a suspected Canadian paedophile who is the target of a global manhunt, accusing him of abusing a nine-year-old boy while trying to find a job teaching here.
The warrant was issued for 32-year-old Christopher Paul Neil, who is accused by Interpol of sexually assaulting 12 boys and posting 200 pictures of the crimes on the Internet.
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| A picture taken by Thai immigration authorities on 11 October 2007 and released by Interpol on 15 October 2007, shows "Vico," a man they have identified as Canadian Christopher Paul Neil. Thailand issued an arrest warrant Thursday for the suspected Canadian paedophile who is the target of a global manhunt, accusing him of abusing a nine-year-old boy while trying to find a job teaching here. |
Neil was tracked to Thailand after hundreds of people around the world responded to an unprecedented global appeal from Interpol for help finding the man shown in the pictures.
The Thai boy, who is now 13, came forward after seeing Neil's photo in the newspaper, police Lieutenant General Wimon Pao-in said.
The boy was playing a video game when a man who acted as a sort of agent for Neil asked the child to play the game in the suspect's room, which was in the same building, Wimon told reporters.
"The boy then had his clothes removed and his photograph was taken. The agent left before the suspect abused the boy and paid the boy off with 200 baht (six dollars)," Wimon said.
The arrest warrant accuses Neil of kidnapping, illegal detention, and of molesting a boy under 15 years old. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 20 years in prison, Wimon said.
Police are still investigating claims that Neil molested two other Thai boys, Wimon added.
Interpol believes that many of the pictures posted on the Internet show Neil raping boys in Vietnam and Cambodia, countries with reputations as destinations for sex tourism.
Although Neil's face had been digitally altered to mask his identity in the photos, a special crimes unit in Germany was able to reconstruct the image, giving authorities their first clue in tracking down the suspect.
Neil had been teaching English at a school in Seoul, where South Korean police are also investigating his activities.
He flew to Bangkok on October 11, when security cameras documented his arrival at the airport.
Neil had visited Thailand six times since 2000, Colonel Thaweesak Phalasak of the immigration police said.
The incident for which the arrest warrant was issued took place in 2003, the same year that Neil applied for a teaching job at a private international school in Bangkok.
The school's assistant chairman, Poramit Srikureja, described Neil as an introvert, who applied to teach English to ninth-grade students, who would be about 14 years old.
Neil left after about four months when the school decided not to hire him because he had difficulty cooperating with school officials and other teachers, Poramit said.
"But there were no complaints from teachers, parents or students when he was here" about any abusive behaviour, Poramit said.
Canadian media said Neil was from suburban Vancouver, where his mother and a sibling still live.
Neil once studied at a seminary, hoping to become a priest, but was eventually shunned by his teachers, who felt he lacked the moral backbone for the task, according to reports.
The Interpol detective leading the manhunt, Mick Moran, said authorities were able to track him down thanks to the groundbreaking global appeal by Interpol, which is based in Lyon, France.
About 350 people reportedly responded to a request for assistance on its website, where the agency posted the reconstructed picture of the suspect.
The agency said key information came from five different sources on three continents.
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