Thai court tries paedophile suspect

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.