[QODLink]
Asia-Pacific
Thai court tries paedophile suspect
Man held after Interpol hunt pleads not guilty to charges of abusing a minor.
Last Modified: 02 Jun 2008 14:58 GMT
Neil's arrest in October last year came after a worldwide search launched by Interpol [AFP]

The trial of a Canadian man charged with sexually abusing a nine-year-old boy began in Thailand after he was arrested last year following a worldwide search launched by Interpol, the international police agency.

Christopher Paul Neil pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case on Monday, a court statement said.
The charges against Neil include taking a child without parental consent, sexually abusing a minor and publishing pornography online.
 
He could face a maximum of 38 years in jail if convicted on all charges.
Neil is accused of sexually abusing the boy, who contacted police after seeing him on television following his arrest.
 
The child claims Neil paid him to perform sexual acts in 2003, while he was living in Thailand.

Prosecutors said they plan to put the boy, now 14, on the stand to testify.

Worldwide hunt

The court set the date for the first witness testimony for October 7, the statement said.

Neil was arrested in Thailand in October 2007 after Interpol unscrambled swirled digital images from internet photos, which showed a man engaging in alleged sexual acts with young boys.

The photos were found online in 2004, but the face of the perpetrator was digitally obscured by a swirling shape.

Interpol was able to unscramble the images with the help of German police computer experts three years later and, in an unprecedented move, circulated the pictures publicly.

Neil was arrested 11 days after the Interpol appeal was launched.
Source:
Agencies
Topics in this article
People
Country
Organisation
Featured on Al Jazeera
Murder of Somali draws ire of foreign African nationals over rising xenophobic violence.
We look at the impact of increased sanctions against the Islamic Republic and ask who it really affects.
Tupamaros enforce rough justice in Venezuela's slums to support socialism, but critics say the group are violent thugs.
More than a decade ago the US launched a war against Afghanistan, but was it a justified battle?
Featured
Syria's War
Two years since the start of the uprising, rebels and Assad's forces remain locked in conflict.
Turkey Protests
Extensive coverage of political unrest that spread from Istanbul to other areas.
Obama's scandal
Revelations over NSA spying are threatening president's European trip.
Farming in Greece
Some urbanites are returning to their rural roots to farm the land.
People 'without'
Kuwait's 'Bidoon' have been stripped of rights and treated as second-class citizens.
join our mailing list