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Thai Police Set to Issue Arrest Warrant Against Canadian Pedophile Suspect

Posted on: Thursday, 18 October 2007, 03:00 CDT

By Ambika Ahuja, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BANGKOK, Thailand - An arrest warrant will be issued for a Canadian pedophile suspect targeted in a global manhunt for allegedly having sex with teenage boys in Bangkok, a Thai police official said Thursday.

School teacher Christopher Paul Neil, 32, has been accused of sexually abusing at least a dozen Cambodian and Vietnamese boys, some as young as six years old. He has taught in Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam.

Neil, from Maple Ridge, B.C., is still believed to be in Thailand where police are attempting to track him down through his network of friends.

Three Thai teenagers came forward Wednesday to testify that Neil had allegedly paid them for sex in 2003 and also showed them computer porn, said police Lieut. Wimon Pao-in. He said the two were 13 and 14 years old at the time. Police are also searching for another youth believed to have had sex with the man.

Border guards in Thailand and neighbouring countries were on alert in case Neil tried to leave Thailand. Cameras at the immigration counter captured him arriving at Bangkok's international airport Thursday from South Korea.

"We are quite certain he is still in Thailand and we think we are moving closer," said police Col. Apichart Suribunya, who is co-ordinating the Thai investigation. "Even if he uses a fake passport to try to get out of the country, his pictures are already published everywhere."

"We are also trying to find more information and investigate his connections in Thailand that he made during his previous stay so we can get closer to him and his network of friends," he added.

The hunt for Neil began three years ago when German police discovered about 200 online photographs of a man sexually abusing children. His face was digitally obscured, but a breakthrough in the case came when German police were able to reconstruct a recognizable image.

He was originally identified with the help of hundreds of tips from people who responded to an unprecedented appeal by Interpol for public assistance in identifying the photos of the man who eluded police for years.

Among those who contacted authorities was Amy Bowler, a Canadian teacher who socialized with Neil when he lived in the South Korean city of Yongin.

Bowler said Neil often went out with her circle of expatriates, loved to sing karaoke, and had a number of close friends.

Neil's family said Tuesday they were devastated and shocked by the allegations. His younger brother, Matthew Neil, told reporters the family is co-operating with the authorities and called on him to turn himself in.

Before starting teaching overseas, Neil worked as a chaplain and counsellor at the Greenwood Air Cadet Summer Training Centre in Nova Scotia from 1998 to 2000.

Capt. Hope Carr, a Canadian forces public affairs officer, said there were no complaints about Neil during that time.

The photo of Neil arriving in Bangkok was broadcast around the world Tuesday as Interpol and Thai police named him as their suspect.

Col. Apichart, who is co-ordinating the Thai investigation said authorities are trying to gather enough evidence to ask for an arrest warrant from court.

"We are also trying to find more information and investigate his connections in Thailand that he made during his previous stay so we could get closer to him and his network of friends and help," he added. "We want to find this man as soon as possible...."

Although there was no clear progress in the search for Neil, more clues about his background emerged.

"Been kicking around Asia for the past five years, teaching mainly and finding other forms of mischief," read the suspect's profile on the social networking website MySpace.

"I love teaching, can't get enough of it really. Enjoy drama, musicals and when in Korea you'll find me in the Norae Bang (song room) on many occassions...can't say I sound very good but it's all fun," read the page, which also described him as "5 feet, 11 inches tall, slim and slender."

Separately, friends described Neil as outgoing and fun to be around. Co-workers gave mixed reviews of his teaching skills, but all described a man they believed to be harmless.

Former colleagues in South Korea said he arrived in August to teach at the Gwangju school, a small international school in the city of Gwangju, 370 kilometres southwest of Seoul. He failed to show up for work last Thursday - the day he flew to Bangkok on a one-way, full-fare ticket, according to Interpol.

"He was a very good teacher. Well organized, well prepared. His kids really liked him," said Ray Fowler, a Canadian teacher at the school who said he lived next door to Neil. He said Neil, who taught social studies and English to grades seven and eight, would join other teachers at his place to drink beer and listen to music on Friday nights.

The parents of his South Korean students were both angry and anxious after learning the news.

"My heart is still pounding," Moon Hyang-bun, who has two children at the school where Neil taught, said Wednesday.

"I didn't personally meet him but our kids liked him," Moon said outside the school. "He had a good reputation. He suddenly disappeared and our kids were perplexed and felt bad."

Myung Hyun-sook, head of administrative affairs, told reporters the school had no way of knowing about Neil's alleged abuses before he was hired on a one-year contract to teach eighth graders.

"We were looking for a teacher for English and social studies and he was the right person," she said.

It was a different story in Thailand. Officials at Ramkhamhaeng Advent International School-a Christian school in Bangkok - said Neil taught there from August 2003 to January 2004.

"He didn't pass the probation," said Poramit Srikureja, an assistant chairman of the school.

Poramit said the school gave Neil verbal and written warnings about his teaching performance, in particular sloppy lesson plans and instances where he left students unsupervised in the classroom.

Both schools said there were no complaints of abuse by parents or students during the time he was at the school.

- With files from The Canadian Press.

Source: Canadian Press

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