Cambodia, World Vision Join Hands To Combat Child Sex In Tourism

PHNOM PENH, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- Cambodia's Tourism Ministry and World Vision-Cambodia on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to forge partnership in combating sexual exploitation of children in tourism.

A joint press release said under the MoU, the ministry and World Vision will work together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Interpol to address sexual exploitation of children in tourism in a dual prevention and protection approach.

Together with the Cambodian government and tourism sector, World vision will work to become more aware of vulnerabilities of at-risk children and support responsible tourism practices that prioritise child protection, Xinhua news agency reported.

Cambodia's drug detention hell

A Cambodian boy inhales spirit from glue in a plastic bag in the streets of Phnom Penh city. Photograph: AFP PHOTO /Chhoy Pisei

Thursday, 26 July 2012
David Boyle and Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post

A child in a Cambodian drug rehabilitation centre was forced to perform oral sex on a military police commander while women in the same institutions have been raped for days on end, a damning new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) has found.

The study titled Torture in the Name of Treatment: Human Rights Abuses in Vietnam, China, Cambodia, and Lao PDR, also found Cambodian inmates were forced to build houses for guards and were often detained despite no clear evidence they were addicted to drugs.

Treatments shown to work based on evidence are absent from the centres in Cambodia and Vietnam, yet despite this and the systematic abuse uncovered, donors and UN agencies working with relevant government authorities did little to intervene, the report states.

Cambodian children told Human Rights Watch of how they were beaten, shocked with electric batons and subjected to sexual abuse by staff.

“Some massages I had to give were sexual ... if I did not do this, he would beat me. The commander asked me to ‘eat ice cream’ [perform oral sex]. I refused, and he slapped me ... Performing oral sex happened many times ... how could I refuse?” it quoted an anonymous child as saying.

Royal Pardon for Sex Offender - Cambodia Justice Is for Sale

22 June 2012
By Mu Sochua

Royal Pardon for innocent villagers and political prisoners-YES!

A short-cut Royal Pardon for sex offenders-NO!

Justice for sale in Cambodia must be stopped. It is immoral and shameful.

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Cambodian government’s handling of Trofimov case was unpardonable

Friday, 22 June 2012
Mu Sochua

Mu Sochua (right) with democracy icon and Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon late last year. Photograph: supplied

It goes without saying that the extradition or deportation of Alexander Trofimov is long overdue. However, questions still remain about the irregularities in the sentencing and pardoning of this serial sex offender. The entire case has been riddled with inconsistencies and allegations of high-level corruption. The shortcomings of the Cambodian judiciary have only served to compound the culture of impunity that exists in this country.

Trofimov, who became the focus of Cambodia’s largest-ever paedophilia case, had been convicted of procuring sex from 17 girls between the ages of six and 13. Trofimov himself admitted to sexually abusing 16 of the girls.

During the appeal process, the Russian Embassy in Phnom Penh requested his extradition stating that Trofimov was wanted for the sexual abuse of at least three minors in Russia. The Russian Embassy’s statement added to the wealth of evidence which showed that there was absolutely no doubt that Trofimov was a serious and dangerous serial sex offender and that the likelihood of him reoffending was extremely high.

Disgraced pedophile finally booted out

Russian pedophile Alexander Trofimov (left) rides a jet ski with two unidentified females near Sihanoukville in this undated photograph. Photograph: supplied

Friday, 22 June 2012
Sokha Hotel
The Phnom Penh Post

If all went according to plan last night, Russian pedophile Alexander Trofimov is finally another country’s problem.

Authorities were to put the convicted sex offender on a South Korea-bound flight late yesterday evening, booting him out from the Kingdom and ending months of speculation and outrage that followed his December pardon.

“Wherever he goes from Seoul is up to him,” Chhay Sinarith, director of the Internal Security Department at the Ministry of Interior, said.

Why Trofimov, also known as Stanislav Molodyakov, was sent to South Korea instead of Russia, where he holds citizenship and is also wanted on sexual abuse charges, was not clear.

Cambodia Expels Russian Pedophile

Alexander Trofimov seen with young girls in Cambodia

Pardoned by the king, the Russian businessman was later found living with an underage girl.

2012-06-21

Radio Free Asia

Cambodian authorities moved Thursday night to deport a Russian businessman convicted of sexually abusing more than a dozen Cambodian girls and later pardoned by the country’s king.

Alexander Trofimov, also known as Stanislav Molodyakov, was scheduled to be put on a plane at 11:00 p.m. Cambodia time and deported to Russia, where he is wanted on additional charges of rape.

Speaking to RFA, Cambodian Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said that the Russian embassy in Cambodia had completed their share of the paperwork related to Trofimov’s return to Russia.

“They already confirmed that they have the paperwork,” he said.

“The documents show that [Trofimov] will be deported to Russia and will not be allowed to return.”

81-year-old Swiss arrested for child sex

27 Mar 2012
Lyssandra Sears
The Local (Switzerland)

An 81-year-old Swiss former magnet therapist has been arrested in Cambodia for the third time for sexually abusing children.

The man, known only as Hugo L, comes from Spreitenbach in canton Aargau. He has been arrested three times over the past year and a half for having sex with children, online news website Blick reported.

The octogenarian was first arrested in September 2010 in Pattaya, Thailand, when he was charged with having oral sex with 12-year-olds. Just a few months later, he was arrested on Christmas Eve in Cambodia, for having abused four boys aged between 11 and 13.

Hugo L then served six months of a ten-month sentence in a Cambodian jail. He was banned from ever setting foot in Cambodia again.

Part Two: Some of the lucky ones get rescued

Svay Pak, Cambodia: The top floor of the building is the crime scene where police investigators gathered evidence used to convict Canadian sex tourist Chris Neil. Neil, from Maple Ridge, B.C., is currently serving time in a Thai prison. (Photograph by: Courtesy, Ratanak International)

Trauma counseling, education and training help Da and Sophia recover.

March 23, 2012
By Daphne Bramham
Vancouver Sun
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

It’s a long climb up three flights of steep, narrow steps on an outdoor stairway flanked by a wall topped with razor wire.

Even after reaching the apartment door, there’s another flight of stairs. At the top, a narrow landing separates the bathroom and kitchen — little more than a sink and a counter top — from a large single room.

It’s a typical Phnom Penh apartment. The main room has a bed and a mattress on the floor and an ironing board. A wide tiled balcony in front is filled with laundry drying on racks.

Until recently, Da and Sophia had never imagined such luxury.

The sisters — now aged 22 and 18 — and their 17-year-old brother are Vietnamese, but they grew up in a village called Svay Pak, only 11 kilometres from the Cambodian capital.

Part Three: Former RCMP investigator a beacon for change

Svay Pak, Cambodia: Former RCMP forensics expert and Ratanak International’s founder – Brian McConaghy – stands outside a former brothel. It was the first crime scene he went to in the village and it’s where he helped Vancouver police collect evidence needed to convict Canada’s first sex tourist, Donald Bakker. (Photograph by: Courtesy, Ratanak International)

Brian McConaghy founded Vancouver-based Ratanak International, which helps rescue and educate former sex slaves

March 23, 2012

By Daphne Bramham

Vancouver Sun

SVAY PAK, Cambodia

A few years ago, sex tourists trolled the brothels of this dusty village looking for sex with children and willing to pay a premium for virgins and children as young as three.

Little girls with lipstick no longer strike sexy poses along the main street. But pimps still come and collect their girls and boys from a kids’ club run by a non-profit group in a former brothel on that same street.

Agape International Mission runs that program. It also runs a school, retraining for girls rescued from the sex trade, a medical clinic, and a gym for boys and young men (some of whom are pimps and brothel owners).

Vancouver-based Ratanak International provided the seed money and continues to fund a third of all the programs.

In November, Ratanak’s founder, Brian McConaghy, came to take a look at the most recent rental, a former brothel that will be converted into a clothing factory.

Part Four: Boys the forgotten victims

Little help for boys even though they may be more at risk than girls.

March 23, 2012
By Daphne Bramham
Vancouver Sun
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

A couple of “lady boys” were working on the cutting room floor at the Daughters of Cambodia’s operations centre in the middle of a district well-known for its brothels, pimps and drug dealers.

A few more were in the woodworking shop, cutting buttons from coconut shells and making wooden plaques.

The 10 boys in the program aren’t that easy to spot among the other “daughters” — young women and girls who were once commercially sexually exploited and are now getting counselling and retraining so they can move on to a better life.

“They fit the criteria,” Daughters’ founder Ruth Elliott says simply. “I don’t mind how they dress, whether they’re male, female or in-between. They’re human beings and we’re trying to offer them freedom.”

Elliott would like to do more to help the boys. But for now, the Oxford-trained psychologist says they’re still learning how best to help them because their needs are so different from those of the girls.

Infrastructure development and increased tourism mean exploitation of children is on the rise

Svay Pak children watching cartoons at The Sanctuary. (Photograph by: Courtesy Brian McConaghy , Ratanak International)

Part Five: What's to be done?

Infrastructure development and increased tourism mean exploitation of children is on the rise

March 23, 2012
By Daphne Bramham
Vancouver Sun

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Preschool-aged victims may be off the streets, but Cambodia is still a destination of choice for sexual predators.

Even though the country prosecuted more child sex offenders last year than in 2010, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child raised a red flag.

“The committee is seriously concerned that child sex tourism has been increasing in recent years and that an alarming proportion of children are exposed to sexual violence and pornography especially through the Internet,” it said in a June 2010 report.

It expressed “deep concern that thousands of children are exploited into prostitution ... and that rape of children is on the rise.”

Cambodia jails American doctor for child sex

PHNOM PENH, Jan 11, 2012 (AFP) - A Cambodian court on Wednesday sentenced an American doctor to 10 years in prison for paying for sex with two underaged boys, officials said.

Phillip Bruce Shepard from Michigan, was arrested in the capital Phnom Penh last July for abusing the brothers aged 12 and 14.

“He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for purchasing child prostitution,” prosecutor Ek Chheng Huot at Phnom Penh Municipal Court told AFP.

US man found guilty of abusing Cambodian boy

Friday, November 04, 2011

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court has sentenced an American man to four years in prison on charges of sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy.

Judge Suos Sam Ath of Phnom Penh Municipal Court said James D'Agostino was found guilty Friday of paying for sexual services from a minor. He paid tuition for the boy, who stayed at his home.

CNY doctor arrested in Cambodia for child sex abuse

APRIL 24, 2011

SYRACUSE, NY (WSYR-TV) – A doctor from Central New York has been arrested in Cambodia and is being held in a Phnom Penh prison on a charge of sexual abuse of an underage boy, according to the non-governmental organization Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE).

In a release on its website, APLE says James D’Agostino, 56, was arrested February 16 by the Phnom Penh anti human trafficking and juvenile protection police. He was charged two days later under article 34 “purchase of child prostitution.”

APLE is an organization that provides assistance to vulnerable children in South and South-East Asia by monitoring and investigating child sexual exploitation and associated trafficking activities.

Cambodia paedophile Nick Griffin accused of raping boy while working in Wales

Mar 20 2011
By Darren Devine
Wales On Sunday

PAEDOPHILE Nick Griffin, who used a Cambodian orphanage as a front for his sick urges, repeatedly raped a young boy while running a Scout group in North Wales, it was claimed today.

His alleged victim, now aged 23, told Wales on Sunday that Griffin – jailed earlier this month after being convicted of abusing children – attacked him over a two year period.

His shocking accusation – which is now being investigated by police – came as those who worked with the Griffin in Cambodia revealed they raised concerns about his relationship with young boys long before his arrest but were not heeded by authorities there.

Griffin, 53, was finally unmasked as a sex monster only last week when he was convicted of abusing young boys in the Cambodian orphanage he set up and ran for five years. He was jailed for two years for offences against children.

We warned authorities about Nick Griffin, volunteers say

Mar 20 2011
By Julia McWatt
Wales On Sunday

CHARITY volunteers who worked with Nick Griffin in Cambodia told Wales on Sunday of the disturbing behaviour they witnessed.

Griffin abused boys under the age of 15 at the orphanage he set up in Siem Reap but was only convicted last week – five years after he founded the institution.

Staff who worked alongside Griffin complained about him first in 2008 but the complaints were never proven and it was not until last year that he was arrested.

Sally Sayer, regional director of Volunteer Project Overseas, lives in Siem Reap and said she had become concerned about 53-year-old Griffin and the orphanage more than a year ago.

America's Most Wanted Goes Undercover In Cambodia [...to be aired on FOX in the US]

2010-11-11
By Kelly West
CinemaBlend.com

In what sounds like a relatively horrifying episode, this Saturday America’s Most Wanted will feature host John Walsh as he goes undercover in Cambodia to expose international sex trafficking.

It's an unfortunate reality that sex-related crimes are a global epidemic and this Saturday, America's Most Wanted will be visiting Cambodia to investigate pedophilia crimes taking place at a notorious bar. Fox released some information on the special today, revealing that in addition to Walsh’s undercover venture in Southeast Asia, the episode will also include information on American sex predators that are still at large. The episode will air on Saturday, Nov. 13 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Below is the full description for the episode as provided by Fox.

AMERICA’S MOST WANTED cameras go undercover in Cambodia, a nation targeted by pedophiles because the abject poverty there has made it distressingly easy to “buy” underage children. Working with international law enforcement agencies, Walsh investigates a notorious Phnom Penh bar to see firsthand how young girls are offered to foreign visitors and visits a Cambodian prison to confront jailed Westerners accused of preying upon children.

Walsh also talks to Somaly Mam, a tireless advocate who has dedicated her life to rescuing Cambodia’s children from the sex trade. A sex-crime victim as a child, Mam operates a center for other victimized children, offering them hope for the future.

In the episode, Walsh will ask viewers to get involved in the fight against predators by helping him track down several American pedophiles profiled during the broadcast.

Survey found that most Cambodian youths are involved with alcohol, drugs and unsafe sex

05 Nov 2010
By Keo Nimol
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Soch

The ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MoEYS) along with a number of NGOs and international organizations conducted a survey on school age youths regarding the consumption of alcohol, drugs and sex.

The survey dubbed the MoEYS and NGOs’ investigation on 2,400 youths between the age of 10 to 24, which includes 1,253 boys and 1,236 girls, found that 91% of the boys consume alcohol or alcoholic beverages, whereas 70% of the girls said that they have consumed alcohol or alcoholic beverages.

Regarding sex, 41% of the boys and 23% of the girls indicated that they had sex and some even had abortions. In regards to the consumption of drugs, 15% of the boys and 4% of the girls said they have used drugs.

The survey was conducted in 8 provinces and municipalities: Phnom Penh, Battambang province, Kampong Cham province, Siem Reap province, Banteay Meanchey province, Svay Rieng province, Koh Kong province, and it took place at the beginning of 2010.

Pen Saroeun, director of educational health at MoEYS, said on 05 November that the survey was conducted during a period of 1 year in order to collect various statistics and the questions were asked to Cambodian youths along a number of hot spot areas where there are large crowds and where diseases could be easily spread.

Pen Saroeun added: “The areas are places where there are bars, karaoke parlors, massage parlors, street corners, soccer fields, attraction parks, public parks, snooker parlors, computer game parlors etc…”

Pen Saroeun indicated that after collecting the survey results, MoEYS called for cooperation between the authority and the NGOs in order to educate the youths so they may understand about the various dangers from consumption of drugs, alcohol and sex.

Dr. Um Sopheap, president of the Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance (KHANA), who uses the results of the survey, indicated that the survey is useful for Cambodia in regards to youth involvement in the use of drugs, alcohol and sex.

Um Sopheap said that the results of the survey could be used to set up new programs to educate the youths about the protection of their health: “This if the first time in Cambodia that there is such level of study, and we obtained this much scientific information. This is very needed information for programs to set up policies for the youths.”

The survey was conducted with the participation of UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, UNESCO, UNAIDS, SRP, USAID and PRASIT etc…

Kiwi on trial for abusing girls in Cambodia

Wednesday September 22, 2010
Source: Newstalk ZB/ONE News

A 53-year-old New Zealand man has gone on trial in Cambodia for sexually abusing young girls.

Michael John Lines, who also has Australian citizenship, faces charges of procuring a child for prostitution.

He was arrested in March at a hotel in the coastal province of Preah Sihanouk.

Police accused him of having sex with two underage girls.

The closed door trial was adjourned after a day, and the judge said he would give a verdict in the near future.

Cambodia has long been a magnet for foreign paedophiles because of poverty and poor law enforcement, however in recent years police and courts have increasingly targeted sex offenders.

British man detained in Cambodia on child sex abuse charges

Friday, September 10, 2010
The Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A British man has been arrested in Cambodia for having sex with three Cambodian girls.

Michael Julian Leach allegedly paid to have sex with girls between the ages of 10 and 15. He was arrested Sunday at a guesthouse on the outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh. He was with the girls.

On Friday, a Phnom Penh judge ordered the 50-year-old from London held until his trial.

Samleang Seila, director of Action Pour Les Enfants, a child rights group, said two Cambodian men and a woman who helped procure the girls were also arrested.

Cambodia has long been a magnet for foreign pedophiles because of poverty and corrupt law enforcement. But in recent years police and courts have increasingly targeted sex offenders.

Alleged 'sex tourist' faces trial in L.A. federal court

August 3, 2010
Shelby Grad
L.A. Now (California, USA)

A man accused of being a "sex tourist" in Cambodia will face a September trial in federal court, officials said.

Michael James Dodd, 59, was brought from Cambodia to Los Angeles in February. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in federal prison.

Dodd taught English in Cambodia, had sex with a 14-year-old girl and was seen with her on several occasions in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, according to an affidavit for arrest filed in federal court.

In 2002, Dodd pleaded guilty in Saipan to five counts of sexual abuse of a child after he was accused of inappropriately touching 13 female students at an elementary school where he taught, an FBI agent said in the affidavit. Dodd served time in prison and was placed on probation for 15 years.

He also faces criminal charges in Cambodia.

Agents in the FBI's Los Angeles office handled the case because they are working with the Cambodian government and nongovernmental agencies to identify and prosecute U.S. citizens who travel to that country to have sex with minors, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.