By Prak Chan Thul and Douglas Gillison
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
Sihanoukville Municipal Court convicted a German man of debauchery in absentia Tuesday, sentencing him to 10 years in prison and ordering him to pay $2,000 to the six boys he sexually abused, officials said. "[Lars Erik Gellner] committed the crimes in November 2005 and then ran away," judge Sok Soeun said Wednesday. The victims were 13 and 14 years old, he said. In a statement, French anti-pedophile NGO Action Pour Les Enfants welcomed the verdict but complained that the trial was delayed for over a year after Gellner's summons was issued in January 2006.
