• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Thai Police Say Arrest Warrant Issued for Canadian Pedophile Suspect

Posted on: Thursday, 18 October 2007, 09:00 CDT

By Sutin Wannabovorn, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BANGKOK, Thailand - An arrest warrant was issued Thursday for a Canadian pedophile suspect accused of having sex with boys at his Bangkok apartment, a Thai police official said.

Maj.-Gen. Wimol Powintara said authorities were trying to track down Christopher Paul Neil, the target of a global Interpol manhunt, through his network of friends in Thailand.

Police appeared to have few leads on exactly where Neil might be, though they had earlier expressed confidence that he would not escape their dragnet.

"He could be anywhere in Thailand. We have got calls from all over the place that they spotted someone who looks like him so we are dispatching policemen to find out more," Wimol said at a news conference.

The officer said posters of the suspect had been prepared and hotels and tourism agencies had been asked to help in the search.

Neil was identified by Thai police earlier this week after images of the suspect were released by Interpol.

Three Thai youths who were 9, 13 and 14 at the time came forward Wednesday and told police that Neil had allegedly paid them to perform oral sex in 2003, Wimon said.

The arrest warrant is based on the testimony of one of the boys, he said, describing how the victim said he was lured from an Internet cafe by a Thai man who took him to Neil's apartment in Bangkok.

Earlier, Wimol said the warrant was based on evidence from two boys but later corrected that to one.

Two of the boys also claimed he showed them pornographic images on his computer at his apartment.

Wimol alleged that Neil had sex that year with at least one other boy, and allegedly paid each youth each US$16 to $32 for sexual relations.

The boys came forward to police after spotting Neil's photograph on television when his identity was revealed Tuesday by Thai authorities.

Neil, a 32-year-old Canadian from Maple Ridge, B.C. who has been a teacher in Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam, is also suspected of having sex with at least a dozen Cambodian and Vietnamese boys, some as young as six.

In Seoul, Choi Ki-hwan, an official at South Korea's National Police Agency, said Thursday that Neil first arrived in South Korea in 2000 and stayed for a total of four years and six months, based on records from the immigration office.

Police have not received any reports that Neil sexually molested children while in South Korea, Choi said.

Border guards in Thailand and neighbouring countries were on alert in case Neil tried to leave Thailand.

Cameras at the immigration counter captured him Oct. 11 as he arrived at Bangkok's international airport from South Korea.

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

Rosalind Prober, president of the childrens' rights organization Beyond Borders, criticized the Canadian embassy in Thailand for being too low-key.

She chastized Canadian diplomats for remaining silent, saying the Thai public should be reassured that the country condemns sexual misconduct.

"It's time for the Canadian embassy to step up to the plate and say to the public that this isn't what we do, that we have no tolerance for this type of behaviour," she said in an interview from Bangkok.

Prober said such situations have a serious impact on the public who come away with a distorted view of Canadian tourists.

"Unfortunately here in Thailand, . . . there are so many individuals who come to this country only for sexual activity. . . . Because there are so many of them, the Thai people just . . . can't cope with it all," she said. "That's an unfortunate blight on our reputation. And in fact this is a perfect opportunity for the Canadian embassy to say 'this isn't at all normal for the Canadian public.'"

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 German police were able to reconstruct a recognizable image of the man who has eluded police for years, and Interpol broadcast those images last week

The suspect was identified with the help of hundreds of tips from people who responded to an unprecedented appeal by Interpol for public assistance.

More clues about the suspect's background emerged with the discovery of a page on the social networking Web site MySpace apparently created by Neil.

Interpol officials said they believe the page was kept by Neil.

"Been kicking around Asia for the past five years, teaching mainly and finding other forms of mischief," read the profile, which also described him as "5 feet, 11 inches tall, slim and slender."

"I love teaching, can't get enough of it really," the entry says, going on to describe his passion for drama, musicals and karaoke.

Separately, friends have described Neil as outgoing and fun to be around.

Co-workers at international schools gave mixed reviews of his teaching skills, but all described a man they believed to be harmless.

Before teaching in Asia, Neil had worked as a chaplain in Canada, counselling teens.

Canadian authorities have said they would seek his extradition.

Source: Canadian Press

More News in this Category