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	Ex-scout Leader Charged in Thai Sex Ring By Linda Nguyen and Stephane Massinon Calgary Herald December 17, 2008 http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/story.html?id=b438a4aa-7e3d-4c2b-af55-5959fa5eea74 A former Calgarian accused of running a pedophilia business out of his Thailand home for at least eight years was arrested at a London airport Monday on his way back to Canada, a U. S. district attorney said Tuesday. John Charles Wrenshall, 62, a man who was once convicted in 1997 for indecent assaults on choir boys at the Cathedral Church of the Redeemer in Calgary, had lived outside of Bangkok since 1999 or 2000 after moving from Calgary. American prosecutor Lee Vartan said in a phone interview that Wrenshall was arrested on a warrant stemming from an indictment handed down last summer by a grand jury in New Jersey. The arrest at Heathrow airport was the culmination of a joint investigation by American, Thai and Canadian authorities that has been going on for months. Wrenshall is being held in the U. K. pending his extradition to the U. S. The indictment, handed down Aug. 25, was unsealed following Wrenshall's arrest. He is charged with one count of conspiracy to engage in sex tourism and two counts of aiding and abetting sex tourism. Wrenshall is also charged with one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography, seven counts of production of child pornography and seven counts of distribution of child pornography. The indictment and accompanying court documents allege Wrenshall essentially acted as a pimp, arranging trips by U. S. sex tourists and others to his home in Thailand where they would pay to engage in sex with boys as young as six, sometimes for weeks at a time. It alleges Wrenshall's customers were allowed to videotape and photograph their abuse. U. S. officials allege Wrenshall has been hosting sex tourists in this manner since at least May 2000. While living in Thailand, Wrenshall worked at a language centre called the AUA Thailand Language Center, first as a teacher and then later as a supervisor. Adul Pinsuvana, the centre's director, said Wrenshall resigned recently to return to Canada; his last day at the language centre was Friday.When Pinsuvana heard of the arrest, he couldn't believe it. "I thought at first it was a joke or some-thing. When I saw the news report, I was shocked," said Pinsuvana. Terry Fullerton, choir director at the Calgary cathedral from 1973 to 1995, said he hadn't heard from Wrenshall since asking him to leave the church in the 1980s because of allegations of sexual improprieties. "I'm very disappointed that whatever treatment he had doesn't seem to do any good," said Fullerton. If convicted, Wrenshall faces up to 15 years in prison for each count of sex tourism, a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years in prison for each count of producing child pornography, and up to 15 years in prison for distributing child pornography. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 per count. Canadian authorities confirmed they had heard about the charges, but could not say what role the government had in the investigation. In 1997, Wrenshall was sentenced to a year in jail for indecently assaulting eight choir boys at a downtown Calgary church over more than three decades. The former scout master and senior choir member, then 51,was able to lure the boys to his home under the pretence that he was running a study on preteen boys' sexuality. During his trial, Wrenshall admitted that he also had molested at least a dozen other boys aged nine to 12. He was never charged in the latter incidents. He was also convicted in Canada of a similar offence in 1970. In addition to the August indictment, Wrenshall was named in the case of Wayne Corliss, 59, who pleaded guilty Oct. 28 in New Jersey to sex tourism and to producing child pornography.Corliss said he travelled to Thailand every year from 2000 to 2002 for the purpose of having sex with young boys. He said he would stay at Wrenshall's home, where boys were made available to him for a price. Wrenshall's alleged involvement in the ring is the second time in two years that a Canadian has been linked to sex crimes against minors in Thailand. Christopher Paul Neil, a 33-year-old Maple Ridge, B. C. teacher, was convicted in June of kidnapping and sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy, and was sentenced to 39 months in prison. In November, he was convicted on more charges, which extended his sentence by six years.
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