Donald Bakker of Vancouver pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual assault on Cambodian girls as young as seven. (Photo: CBC)Friday, August 18, 2006
CBC News (Canada)
Vancouver police are considering posting two officers to Cambodia full time to help crack down on local pedophiles preying on children overseas.
"We've got residents of Vancouver travelling overseas to essentially rape five-year-old children: How can we not do something about it?" sex crimes investigator Det. Ronald Bieg asked.
Sending officers to the Southeast Asian country is an effective way of tackling the problem, he told CBC Radio on Friday.
"If we are going to be laying charges in Canadian courts, we have to make sure that evidence is gathered in a manner that is acceptable to them."
Bakker case a first
Vancouver police sent an officer to Cambodia to gather evidence in the recent case of city resident Donald Bakker, who was arrested in 2003 carrying videotapes showing assaults on children in that country.
As a result of the investigation, Bakker pleaded guilty on June 1, 2005, to seven counts of sexual assault on Cambodian girls as young as seven years old. He also pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault involving three Vancouver prostitutes. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Bakker was the first person convicted under Canada's sex tourism law, enacted in 2002, which allows authorities to prosecute sex offences committed by Canadians in a foreign country, regardless of that country's laws.
It's aimed at stopping Canadians from taking part in overseas sex tourism involving young children.
"We've got residents of Vancouver travelling overseas to essentially rape five-year-old children: How can we not do something about it?" sex crimes investigator Det. Ronald Bieg asked.
Sending officers to the Southeast Asian country is an effective way of tackling the problem, he told CBC Radio on Friday.
"If we are going to be laying charges in Canadian courts, we have to make sure that evidence is gathered in a manner that is acceptable to them."
Bakker case a first
Vancouver police sent an officer to Cambodia to gather evidence in the recent case of city resident Donald Bakker, who was arrested in 2003 carrying videotapes showing assaults on children in that country.
As a result of the investigation, Bakker pleaded guilty on June 1, 2005, to seven counts of sexual assault on Cambodian girls as young as seven years old. He also pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault involving three Vancouver prostitutes. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Bakker was the first person convicted under Canada's sex tourism law, enacted in 2002, which allows authorities to prosecute sex offences committed by Canadians in a foreign country, regardless of that country's laws.
It's aimed at stopping Canadians from taking part in overseas sex tourism involving young children.
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