Canadian accused of molesting young boys in Thailand pleads not guilty

Canadian former schoolteacher Christopher Neil, center, is chained as he walks to a prison bus after hearing a child molesting trial at criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Neil was arrested in Thailand in October last year on charge of sexually molesting a 9-year old boy in 2003. If found guilty, Neil will be punished up to 20 years in prison. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

The Canadian Press

BANGKOK, Thailand - A Canadian pedophile suspect arrested last year after high-tech detective work and a global manhunt pleaded not guilty Friday to molesting underage boys in Thailand, a Thai court statement said.

Christopher Paul Neil, formerly of Vancouver, was arrested in Thailand on Oct. 19, 2007 after the France-based international police agency Interpol issued a worldwide appeal to identify and apprehend him based on some 200 Internet photos believed to show him carrying out acts of sexual abuse.

In the photos, the face of the perpetrator was digitally obscured, but German police computer experts managed to unscramble the photos so the man's face was recognizable. Interpol circulated the pictures publicly, and from the tips they received identified Neil as the suspect. The boys shown in the photos were believed to be from Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.

A statement issued by Bangkok Criminal Court, where Neil appeared Friday, said that he pleaded not guilty to charges of taking a child under 15 without parental consent with intent to molest, punishable by up to 20 years in prison; illegal detention, punishable by up to three years; and sexual abuse of a child under 15, punishable by up to 10 years.

When he was arrested, Neil was charged with sexually molesting a nine-year-old Thai boy in 2003. He was subsequently charged with sexually molesting the boy's older brother, who was 14 at the time, according to police.

Shackled at the ankles and dressed in a pale orange prison uniform, Neil was smiling Friday as he was ushered out of the courthouse with other defendants into a prison van after his hearing.

"Have a day nice day, guys," he said to reporters, but did not answer any question about the trial or the charges he faced.

The court set March 10 as the opening day for his trial. Neil evidently has not yet secured a defence lawyer; he said he would find his own, but the court said it would appoint a lawyer if he does not have one by the first hearing, according to the court statement.

Neil, a schoolteacher, lived in Thailand from 2002 to early 2004, according to police. Three Thai youths contacted police after seeing Neil's photograph on television, claiming he had paid each of them 500 baht to 1,000 baht ($16-32) to perform oral sex on him in 2003. They were aged nine, 13 and 14 at the time of their alleged abuse.

In Canada, Neil's family has said they will do everything they can to support him and have called for his extradition. Canada has sex tourism laws allowing prosecution for crimes committed overseas.

Neil's arrest ended a global manhunt that started in 2004 when the photos were discovered on the Internet of an unidentified man having sex with dozens of Asian boys, some as young as six.

After reversing the digital swirl that had obscured the suspect's face, Interpol issued its unprecedented public appeal for help in identifying him, and were soon able to trace him to Thailand.

Several countries in Southeast Asia are popular with pedophiles because of poverty that drives children and their parents to accept money for sexual favours, and because of lax law enforcement.

Thai molestation suspect convicted of similar crimes in Cambodia

November 7, 2007
TERRI THEODORE
The Canadian Press

Abbotsford, B.C. — A Canadian wanted on child-sex charges in Thailand was convicted in Cambodia of similar charges this year.

And police in Thailand claim to have evidence of Orville Mader's sexual activity with young boys dating back to 2003.

The information is contained in a document used to keep Mr. Mader in custody and outlines more than a dozen potential criminal charges Mr. Mader “will commit.”

Those charges include sexual interference, incest, bestiality in the presence of a child and sexual assault.

The document backs up those claims “as a result of convictions in absentia for debauchery in 2007 in Cambodia for offences that occurred in 2004.”

It also states there is “evidence of sexual activity with male children under 14 in e-mails exchanged in 2001 and 2004 in Cambodia.”

The Crown is using the information to prevent Mr. Mader from contacting anyone under the age of 14 if he is released on bail.

An Abbotsford court agreed Wednesday to hear Mr. Mader's bail application on Thursday after he made a brief appearance via video link from the North Fraser Pretrial Centre.

“Yes, I'm Orville Frank Mader,” he confirmed as he sat slumped over in a plastic chair in front of the camera being projected to the court.

The slim, 54-year-old had his sandy brown hair cut short and was wearing an orange, prison-issue jump suit.

When the court learned he had a Vancouver lawyer, it set his bail application to the next afternoon.

The Kitchener, Ont., resident, who has a home in the Vancouver area but apparently has lived in Asia for years, is wanted in Thailand on allegations he had sex with an eight-year-old boy.

Mr. Mader was arrested last Friday after stepping off a flight at Vancouver International Airport and held under a protective order after a provincial court judge ruled he could present a threat to children.

The Crown said last week Mr. Mader can go free if he agrees to conditions that keep him away from places frequented by kids, such as playgrounds, schoolyards and community centres.

Canada police arrested suspected paedophile wanted in Thailand [and Cambodia]

Tue, November 6, 2007
The Nation (Thailand)

Police in Canada have arrested Orville Frank Mader whom Thai police have issued warrants for allegedly sexually abusing Thai young boys.

Mader was arrested last Thursday as he arrived at Vancouver International Airport from Thailand. He was believed to have fled Thailand to his home country after Thai police issued arrest warrants for him.

He was accused of paying money to an eight-year-old boy for oral sex. Police believed that Mader abused at least three other boys.

Canadian media reported that Mader allegedly stayed in the same hotel as Christopher Paul Neil, 34, another Canadian who was arrested in Thailand a few weeks ago following a worldwide manhunt on the same charges.

The Thai police warrant for Mader's arrest issued early this week was accompanied by photos of Mader taken by security cameras at the Ben Mansions Hotel in Pattaya.

According to Thai police, Neil has also checked into the Ben Mansions two days before his arrest in Nakhon Ratchasima.

Following the arrest of Mader, police want him returned to Thailand to face charges of sexually abusing young boys.

Media in Canada reported that Mader appeared briefly in a provincial court and was ordered to remain in custody until another court hearing on November 8.

He was detained under a Canadian law that allows the courts to restrict the movements of people believed to be a threat to children under the age of 14, even if no criminal charges have been filed.

It is illegal for Canadians to go to other countries for the purpose of having sex with children. The "sex tourism" law has rarely been used and its constitutionality has never been tested in the courts.

Mader is also wanted in Cambodia, where he was found guilty in 2004 of molesting two boys under the age of 13. He was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in jail.

Accused pedophile Orville Mader remanded after court appearance Friday

The Canadian Press

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. - An accused pedophile who managed to slip through a Thai dragnet before being arrested at Vancouver International Airport will remain behind bars while he searches for a lawyer.

Orville Mader made a brief court appearance in this community just east of Vancouver.

The Crown is seeking a court order preventing Mader, if he's released on bail, from contacting anyone under the age of 14 or going near places such as playgrounds and daycares where kids might be found.

The former Vancouver and Kitchener, Ont., resident was arrested Thursday after stepping off a flight from Thailand, where police accuse him of molesting an eight-year-old boy.

Canada Border Service agents were alerted that Mader was on a flight to Vancouver via Japan and they, in turn, notified RCMP. Officers were waiting for Mader at the airport.

Thai officials had been looking for Mader since earlier this week after a man complained that his son had been forced into sex with Mader by another man.

Mader's arrest came just one day after police in the Thai beach resort town of Pattaya issued a warrant for him.

Thai officials have said they want Mader back and expect he'll be returned quickly.

But legal experts in Canada say it could be months or years before that happens, if it ever does.

A spokesman for the federal Department of Justice said Friday it normally takes between 18 months to three years for someone to go through the extradition process.

Justice officials in Vancouver say they haven't received a formal request for Canada to ship Mader back.

But when they do, Canada could decide to refuse it in favour of charging him under this country's relatively new law against child sex tourism.

Kevin McCullough speculated the Thais may not get Mader back as fast as they'd like.

McCullough represented Canadian Michael Karas, who was wanted in Thailand on charges he murdered his Thai wife.

McCullough argued in 2001, among other things, that his client should not be extradited because of what he said was the Thai government's shoddy record on human rights.

McCullough lost and further court arguments followed, but McCullough said Friday that Karas is still in Canada.

More well-known are the repeated attempts by Thailand officials to extradite Rakesh Saxena, a fugitive Thai banker who has been in Vancouver fighting to stay in Canada since 1996.

He is accused of looting a Bangkok bank but has argued he will be killed if returned to his home country.

Saxena has mostly been under house arrest while he launches appeal after appeal of orders to deport him.

"Canada has never surrendered a soul to Thailand, in spite of people being extradited," said McCullough. "I don't think there's an issue that Amnesty and other groups see them as having a problem.

"Although we here in Canada would hope that all countries would be as just as we are and hold justice as we do so importantly, it's clear that Thailand has developed an international reputation as a place with some problems in the criminal justice system."

Chris Girouard, a spokesman for the federal Department of Justice, said the cases of Karas and Saxena are unusual and said Canada has sent people back to Thailand.

"It all depends on the courts, on the submissions, on the timing. At any point in time, the person can waive the extradition process," Girouard said.

Canada could also decide to prosecute Mader under its own laws against child sex tourism.

There have been very few charges levied under that law and McCullough argues the law has never been tested at the appeal level.

McCullough believes it wouldn't stand, but Benjamin Perrin, an associate international law professor at the University of British Columbia, disagrees.

"If there is going to be a big extradition fight and there's sufficient evidence, it's probably a better alternative to have him face charges here in Canada rather than have a long, protracted legal battle," said Perrin, adding victims could testify from Thailand via video link.

Because Mader is in Canada, Canada gets first dibs on whether to prosecute him here or start the process to send him back, Girouard said.

The decision would be made by the B.C. Attorney General's office.

A spokesman for the ministry could not be reached for comment.

That compares with Christopher Neil, another Vancouver-area resident who was picked up in Thailand after an international manhunt last month on charges of sexually assaulting children and posting pictures of his acts on the Internet.

Because the Thais have Neil, they get the first opportunity to prosecute him, Girouard said.

"Usually, the law where the person physically is is the one that usually takes precedence."

Mader's arrest came just one day after police in the Thai beach resort town of Pattaya issued a warrant for him.

Sgt. Maj. Pottaput Kamho said he got word from police in Bangkok that Mader had been arrested some time on Thursday.

Sgt. Sompol Nakkumpan, the lead investigator in the case, and Constable Annie Linteau with B.C.'s RCMP E Division, also confirmed the arrest. Linteau said there's a possibility Mader could be investigated for possible prior allegations.

Nakkumpan said Mader came to their attention after the father of an eight-year-old boy alleged that his son had been sexually abused.

He said the boy reported being taken to a hotel where the encounter with Mader allegedly took place.

So far, Mader is facing charges in connection with the one incident. However, Nakkumpan says the Canadian is under investigation for two other similar incidents.

Mader has had previous contact with Asian police regarding alleged sex crimes.

In 2004, Cambodian police arrested him on two charges of sexually abusing young boys, but the case did not go to court.

Several Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, are popular with pedophiles due to lax law enforcement, corruption in the justice system and the easy availability of young boys and girls who are forced into prostitution by poverty.

Pattaya is a popular tourist destination with a reputation for a thriving sex industry and high crime rate.

Police said Mader and Neil had some mutual connections in Pattaya and were known to frequent the same hotel.