The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: A German man was charged Tuesday with sexually abusing a 13-year-old Cambodian girl and faces up to 20 years in prison, a court official said.
Walter Munz, a 62-year-old a tourist from Stuttgart, was formally charged with debauchery, said Sok Roeun, a prosecutor at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. Debauchery is a broad Cambodian legal term for sex offenses involving minors and is punishable by 10 to 20 years in jail.
Munz was arrested Sunday when police raided the room he had rented at a guesthouse in Phnom Penh and found him with the underage girl, police said.
Munz had been under police surveillance for several days after authorities received a tip from child rights activists, said Keo Thea, deputy chief of the anti-human-trafficking police.
He said Munz had met the girl recently and convinced her mother that he would help her study English and help the family with daily expenses.
The girl told police that Munz forced her to have sex several times but she had been afraid to tell her mother about the abuse, Keo Thea said.
Last month, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced two German men to 12 and 28 years in prison for sexually abusing four ethnic Vietnamese girls between the ages of 10 and 14.
Child rights advocates say Cambodia's lax law enforcement has made it a destination for foreign pedophiles despite recent police efforts to step up action against offenders.
Walter Munz, a 62-year-old a tourist from Stuttgart, was formally charged with debauchery, said Sok Roeun, a prosecutor at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. Debauchery is a broad Cambodian legal term for sex offenses involving minors and is punishable by 10 to 20 years in jail.
Munz was arrested Sunday when police raided the room he had rented at a guesthouse in Phnom Penh and found him with the underage girl, police said.
Munz had been under police surveillance for several days after authorities received a tip from child rights activists, said Keo Thea, deputy chief of the anti-human-trafficking police.
He said Munz had met the girl recently and convinced her mother that he would help her study English and help the family with daily expenses.
The girl told police that Munz forced her to have sex several times but she had been afraid to tell her mother about the abuse, Keo Thea said.
Last month, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced two German men to 12 and 28 years in prison for sexually abusing four ethnic Vietnamese girls between the ages of 10 and 14.
Child rights advocates say Cambodia's lax law enforcement has made it a destination for foreign pedophiles despite recent police efforts to step up action against offenders.
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