CBC News
October 24, 2007
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/10/24/neil-charge.html
Police in Thailand filed new charges on Wednesday against a Canadian man suspected of sexually assaulting Asian boys and posting pictures of the abuse on the internet.
Christopher Paul Neil, 32, a teacher from Maple Ridge, B.C., has been charged with sexually abusing a 14-year-old Thai boy in 2003.
Neil has already been charged with assaulting the boy's nine-year-old brother that same year.
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| New charges against Canadian Christopher Paul Neil, 32, could mean 20 years in a Thai prison if he's convicted. Photo by Apichart Weerawong |
While police have only filed charges in relation to the two brothers, authorities suspect Neil was involved in abusing other boys in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Neil became the subject of an international police search after German police digitally unscrambled 200 internet photos that appeared to depict a man, with his face distorted, abusing boys.
Interpol, a global police network, released some of the unscrambled photos to the public two weeks ago, and tracked down Neil last week.
He was arrested Friday in northeastern Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima.
Lt. Col. Manat Thongsimuang, deputy chief of the Thai police unit that handles crimes against women and children, said Neil has been informed of the new charges laid against him.
Neil is currently being held at Bangkok Remand Prison. His family in Canada is working to secure him a lawyer.
"He refused to give a statement until he has a lawyer," said Manat.
Could face up to 20 years in jail
Manat said the new charges against Neil include sexually abusing a child under the age of 15, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
He's also charged with taking away a child under the age of 15 without parental consent, with the intent to molest. The charge comes with a maximum 20-year sentence.
Neil has taught at schools in Thailand, South Korea and Vietnam since 2000.
Before teaching, he attended a seminary school in Mission, B.C., but never became a priest.
He also worked as a substitute teacher in Port Coquitlam and worked as a chaplain and counsellor for the cadets, serving in Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia.
Canadian authorities have said they will try to have Neil extradited to Canada, which has sex tourism laws that allow for the prosecution of suspects accused of committing crimes abroad.
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