NGOs want pardoned pedophile deported

Convicted pedophile Alexander Trofimov (right), former chairman of the Koh Pous Investment Company, is escorted by a prison security official after a session at the appeal court in Phnom Penh in June 2010. (Reuters)

Monday, 02 January 2012
Vincent MacIsaac
The Phnom Penh Post

National and international NGOs have petitioned Minister of Interior Sar Kheng to have serial pedophile Alexander Trofimov deported from Cambodia, noting that a repeat offence is likely for criminals of his type.

“We fear that Alexander Trofimov will again abuse children as he did after escaping his past in Russia,” reads the petition signed by 14 NGOs, including World Vision, Save the Children, Licadho and Action Pour les Enfants. It was delivered to the ministry on Friday.

Trofimov, is known on “Interpol’s wanted list as Stanislav Molodyakov” and is “reported to have raped six girls aged nine [to] 10 years in Russia”, the petition said, adding that a request to extradite him to Russia had been ignored.

He was released from Preah Sihanouk provincial prison by royal pardon on December 20 after serving slightly more than four years of an eight-year sentence for sex crimes against 17 girls. Prior to his arrest, Trofimov had led a US$300 million project to turn Snake Island into a luxury tourism resort, complete with a bridge linking it to Sihanoukville.

“Trofimov seems to have been granted special favours, ranging from consolidation of his sentence, being kept in a special comfortable prison room, frequently allowed to go out of prison, reduction of sentence granted once per year and royal pardon,” the petition said.

Two other pedophiles were released by royal pardons last month. German national Alexander Watrin – who had been convicted of sex crimes against four boys – was freed from Preah Sihanouk provincial prison on December 20. Three days later, Dutch national Rene Paul Martin Aubel was freed from Prey Sar prison. He had been serving a 10-year sentence for sex crimes against six boys in 2005.

Trofimov is considered the most dangerous of the three because of the number of his victims and the apparent unwillingness of Cambodian authorities to hold him accountable. Between 2004 and his arrest in 2007, “he lured, tricked and procured at least 21 under-age girls from seven brokers for sexual abuse”, the petition said.

“Allowing Trofimov to remain free … leaves victims and their families living in a long-term, highly traumatic situation, where they … are unable to recover from the abuses committed against them,” it said.

Interior ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said yesterday he had not heard of the petition. The Post will publish it in its entirety tomorrow.