Cambodian court cuts Belgian paedophile's sentence

Tuesday, August 26, 2008
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

A Cambodian court cut a convicted Belgian paedophile's prison sentence from 18 years to three years, citing a change in child abuse laws.

Philippe Dessart, 48, was arrested in 2006 in a Phnom Penh guesthouse with a naked 13-year-old boy in his room. He was charged with debauchery and sentenced the same year to 18 years in jail.

The Court of Appeals reduced his sentence after downgrading the charges against Dessart from debauchery to indecent acts against minors.

"The court found Philippe Dessart guilty of committing indecent acts,'' judge Um Sarith said.

Cambodia used to apply its debauchery law to almost all sex crimes, but has recently updated its statutes to include the new charge of indecent acts.

New Zealander convicted of Cambodian sex crimes gets sentence reduced

2008-07-01

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - A New Zealand man convicted of molesting Cambodian boys has had his sentence cut from ten to six years in prison.

Saly Theara, a judge at the Appeals Court, said Tuesday the sentence of Malcolm Anthony Hatfield, 62, was reduced because the crime which he committed had been redefined under Cambodian law and now had a lesser penalty.

Hatfield, who was convicted of the sexual assaults in 2004, made his appeal to the court last week, claiming he was innocent and had been framed by a child rights group, Action Pour Les Enfants.

Van Phal Na, a defense lawyer for Hatfield, called Tuesday's ruling an injustice and said he will consult with his client on what to do next.

Lax law enforcement and poverty have made Cambodia a prime destination for foreigners seeking sex with minors, though police have recently stepped up efforts to fight the crime.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court had sentenced Hatfield to 10 years in prison on debauchery charges for molesting four Cambodian boys aged 12-14.

Pedophile offenses had previously been prosecuted under a vague law. But a recently introduced statute specifically covers sexual and indecent acts against minors, and the judge ordered Hatfield's sentence modified to reflect that.

Hatfield had been teaching English in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, when he was arrested, according to the state prosecutor's office. His passport said he was born in the city of Auckland.