Six of the seven girls who were drugged, beaten and raped at his Phnom Penh compound were brought to the U.S. to speak at his sentencing hearing. Former ambassador urges maximum penalty.
September 26, 2008
By Scott Glover
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer (California, USA)
A prosecutor offered her a wooden footstool to stand on so she could better see the judge, but the girl declined.
She eyed the defendant, a retired U.S. Marine captain who had done unspeakable things to her and six other girls. He was seated just a few feet away with a smirk on his face.
The girl, 14, rocked back and forth, seeming to summon the courage to speak, and then, in a voice so faint it could barely be heard, she did.
"I don't want any other children to be like us," she told U.S. District Court Judge Dale S. Fischer through a translator. "Please don't allow this to happen again."
The girl spoke during a sentencing hearing for Michael Joseph Pepe, 53, of Oxnard. Pepe was convicted in May of having sex with seven Cambodian girls age 9 to 12. He faces a maximum sentence of 210 years in federal prison.
Pepe was working as a teacher in Cambodia when he hired a prostitute to procure the children from their families, according to testimony in the three-week trial. The victims, six of whom were flown to the United States to testify, said Pepe drugged, bound, beat and raped them in his compound in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital. In addition to the victims' testimony, prosecutors showed jurors restraints, sedatives and homemade child pornography seized by Cambodian National Police during a raid of Pepe's residence in 2006.
Cambodian police began investigating Pepe after receiving complaints of suspected child sexual abuse in the house where he lived. U.S. authorities later joined the investigation at the request of their Cambodian counterparts.
All of the victims were in court Thursday, but it took some coaxing from Fischer to get them to speak.
"I don't want you to be afraid," the judge told the girls, one of whom clutched a fluffy pink teddy bear. "This is a safe place."
Then, one after another, they got up and said a few words. Some stole nervous glances at Pepe as they spoke.
"What he did to me, it's very painful," said one girl in a striped dress. Another, with long black hair and a sweet voice, told the judge: "I just want to say thank you that you helped me find justice."
Social workers who are helping to care for the girls in Cambodia told Fischer the youngsters probably would be traumatized for the rest of their lives, particularly in a culture in which victims of sexual abuse are stigmatized.
"The culture that they live in considers these children as refuse now," said Don Brewster, who runs a mission in Cambodia that helpssexuallyabused children. "They have a life sentence of overcoming what their culture thinks of them."
After Brewster spoke, Fischer again addressed the girls.
"Nothing that happened to you is your fault," the judge said through a pair of translators who conveyed her message to the girls seated in the courtroom gallery. "You are all very brave and strong to come here and testify."
Pepe, who was dressed in white jail jumpsuit, did not speak during the hourlong hearing.
He is expected to be sentenced Nov. 4, after Fischer has had an opportunity to weigh the victims' statements and other issues in the case, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Patricia A. Donahue, the lead prosecutor in the case.
Among the materials the judge probably will consider is a letter from the former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, Joseph A. Mussomeli, asking that she impose the maximum sentence.
Mussomeli, who stepped down from the post last month, wrote that corruption, lack of respect for the rule of law, and the trafficking of women and children "have created a breeding ground where pedophiles can integrate into the expatriate community and prey on the weak and defenseless."
He added: "A well-publicized and strong sentence will send a clear and unequivocal signal that this illicit behavior will not be tolerated."
September 26, 2008
By Scott Glover
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer (California, USA)
Mussomeli, who stepped down from the post last month, wrote that corruption, lack of respect for the rule of law, and the trafficking of women and children "have created a breeding ground where pedophiles can integrate into the expatriate community and prey on the weak and defenseless."The young girl stood at the podium in a cavernous federal courtroom in downtown Los Angeles, 8,000 miles and a world away from her native Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
A prosecutor offered her a wooden footstool to stand on so she could better see the judge, but the girl declined.
She eyed the defendant, a retired U.S. Marine captain who had done unspeakable things to her and six other girls. He was seated just a few feet away with a smirk on his face.
The girl, 14, rocked back and forth, seeming to summon the courage to speak, and then, in a voice so faint it could barely be heard, she did.
"I don't want any other children to be like us," she told U.S. District Court Judge Dale S. Fischer through a translator. "Please don't allow this to happen again."
The girl spoke during a sentencing hearing for Michael Joseph Pepe, 53, of Oxnard. Pepe was convicted in May of having sex with seven Cambodian girls age 9 to 12. He faces a maximum sentence of 210 years in federal prison.
Pepe was working as a teacher in Cambodia when he hired a prostitute to procure the children from their families, according to testimony in the three-week trial. The victims, six of whom were flown to the United States to testify, said Pepe drugged, bound, beat and raped them in his compound in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital. In addition to the victims' testimony, prosecutors showed jurors restraints, sedatives and homemade child pornography seized by Cambodian National Police during a raid of Pepe's residence in 2006.
Cambodian police began investigating Pepe after receiving complaints of suspected child sexual abuse in the house where he lived. U.S. authorities later joined the investigation at the request of their Cambodian counterparts.
All of the victims were in court Thursday, but it took some coaxing from Fischer to get them to speak.
"I don't want you to be afraid," the judge told the girls, one of whom clutched a fluffy pink teddy bear. "This is a safe place."
Then, one after another, they got up and said a few words. Some stole nervous glances at Pepe as they spoke.
"What he did to me, it's very painful," said one girl in a striped dress. Another, with long black hair and a sweet voice, told the judge: "I just want to say thank you that you helped me find justice."
Social workers who are helping to care for the girls in Cambodia told Fischer the youngsters probably would be traumatized for the rest of their lives, particularly in a culture in which victims of sexual abuse are stigmatized.
"The culture that they live in considers these children as refuse now," said Don Brewster, who runs a mission in Cambodia that helpssexuallyabused children. "They have a life sentence of overcoming what their culture thinks of them."
After Brewster spoke, Fischer again addressed the girls.
"Nothing that happened to you is your fault," the judge said through a pair of translators who conveyed her message to the girls seated in the courtroom gallery. "You are all very brave and strong to come here and testify."
Pepe, who was dressed in white jail jumpsuit, did not speak during the hourlong hearing.
He is expected to be sentenced Nov. 4, after Fischer has had an opportunity to weigh the victims' statements and other issues in the case, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Patricia A. Donahue, the lead prosecutor in the case.
Among the materials the judge probably will consider is a letter from the former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, Joseph A. Mussomeli, asking that she impose the maximum sentence.
Mussomeli, who stepped down from the post last month, wrote that corruption, lack of respect for the rule of law, and the trafficking of women and children "have created a breeding ground where pedophiles can integrate into the expatriate community and prey on the weak and defenseless."
He added: "A well-publicized and strong sentence will send a clear and unequivocal signal that this illicit behavior will not be tolerated."
9 comments:
Hun Sen allows it to happen.
Thanks US. That's justice. If that mother fucker Hun Sen can be like that, we would progress tremendously.
Congratulation to all CPP voters!!! May the next five years bring you dejection and disparity to all your family. You are a true Xmer.
God bless Cambodia
Sino-Khmer in US
Thank you H.E. Ambassador Joseph A. Mussomeli for your noble work in Cambodia. And thanks for your letter helping to have justice done for the girls.
Portland, Oregon – Big Shot Pictures has completed a pro-bono video production project for Transitions Global about building new lives for the young survivors of Cambodia’s prolific sex trafficking industry. The nine-minute mini-documentary was produced to generate awareness and raise funds to help the children Transitions Global has rescued from the nightmare of sexual enslavement. Transitions Global’s goal is to create sustainable futures for these 14-15 year old girls who have been taken from their families, threatened and beaten.
Comprised of interviews with James Pond, the organization’s executive director and founder, Jaya Sry, Cambodian director and trauma specialist Dr. Wendy Freed, plus footage from NBC’s Dateline, the project was the brainchild of Big Shot Picture’s Erin McNamara who coordinated all phases of production development and supervised pre-production, production and post-production.
“We appreciate Big Shot Picture’s commitment to the global community and the dedication Ms. McNamara has given to this project,” said Mr. Pond. “Our hope is to leverage this powerful piece to raise much needed funds and generate awareness for the young who are suffering.”
Formerly known as Transitions Cambodia, the Pond family changed the name of the organization to Transitions Global, to reflect the many hot spots around the globe where child sex trafficking is prolific. Acknowledged for their 70% rehabilitation rate, Transitions Global has an ongoing need for donations to help expand their resources and help teens develop much needed life skills.
For more information about donating to Transitions Global, visit www.transitionsglobal.org.
Big Shot Pictures is a multi-disciplined film and video production company offering traditional advertising, film and television content, DRTV, and corporate film and video. For more information, visit www.bigshotpictures.com.
Before put his ass in jail, hit his head with a baseball bat a couple times then poke his ass half way thru the bat, take it out and shove into that mother fucker's mouth.
I am living in US and always regard US citizens for more professional and respect and now I've heard this incident it really aggravating me for a well civilized guy to act barbarian toward the vulnerable and defenseless. This is a serious crime that he have done to these defenseless girls. And in that disgracefullness this guy deserves to be punished what the court have given him. For a former service guy how could have done such think like that. Where is the dignity of this guy?
Khmer Lowell, MA.
Ah Scam Rainxy brought all of his pedophiles friends to molest our children. I don't know what he got against Khmer children, but many have died and they are only 12 or 13 years old. I hope Ah Scam Rainxy's supporters is happy for what they paid for.
can't do it in your own country, what makes you think cambodia is an exception? make sure they are over age before hook-up, get witness if you have too. it is called child abuse, and it is against the law anywhere in the world.
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