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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
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