'Swirly face' pedophile jailed
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BANGKOK:--A Canadian teacher arrested in Thailand after an unprecedented Interpol manhunt has been sentenced to three years and three months in prison for kidnapping and sexually abusing an underage boy.
Christopher Paul Neil, 33, was seized in northeastern Thailand last October following a campaign by the international police agency Interpol, which had reconstructed a series of digitally "swirled'' internet images of a man abusing boys.
The court in Bangkok reduced his sentence from six years and six months, citing Neil's confession.
He was also ordered to pay a 60,000 baht ($1800) fine.
Neil did not say anything as he left the courtroom in shackles and an orange prison uniform, but smiled at reporters.
He was convicted of molesting a 13-year-old boy.
Neil still faces charges in a separate case of molesting the boy's nine-year-old brother.
His lawyer was not present when the verdict was handed down, but Neil's translator, Seros Mia, said: "He will just accept the court ruling.''
Neil was arrested after Interpol last year launched its first-ever public appeal for help in identifying the man seen in about 200 graphic online photographs abusing Asian boys.
The man in the pictures had created a digital swirl to hide his face, but German computer experts were able to reconstruct the images.
The agency then posted the suspect's picture on its website and appealed to the public for help, drawing more than 300 replies from around the world.
The operation was codenamed "Vico'' because the images were believed to have been taken in Vietnam and Cambodia in 2002 or 2003.
-- news.com.au 2008-08-15
Canadian 'swirl face' paedophile jailed in Thailand
BANGKOK: -- A Canadian teacher arrested in Thailand after an unprecedented manhunt was sentenced to three years and three months in prison Friday for kidnapping and sexually abusing an underage boy.
Christopher Paul Neil, 33, was seized last October following a campaign by the international police agency Interpol, which had reconstructed a series of digitally "swirled" Internet images of a man abusing boys.
The court in Bangkok reduced his sentence from six years and six months, citing Neil's confession. He was also ordered to pay a 60,000 baht (1,800 dollar) fine.
Neil did not say anything as he left the courtroom in shackles and an orange prison uniform, but smiled at reporters.
He was convicted of molesting a 13-year-old boy. Neil still faces charges in a separate case of molesting the boy's nine-year-old brother.
His lawyer was not present when the verdict was handed down, but Neil's translator Seros Mia said: "He will just accept the court ruling."
Neil, originally from suburban Vancouver, was arrested after Interpol last year launched its first-ever public appeal for help in identifying the man seen in about 200 graphic online photographs abusing Asian boys.
The man in the pictures had created a digital swirl to hide his face, but German computer experts were able to reconstruct the images.
The agency then posted the suspect's picture on its website and appealed to the public for help, drawing more than 300 replies from around the world.
The operation was codenamed "Vico" because the images were believed to have been taken in Vietnam and Cambodia in 2002 or 2003.
Other countries could still seek the extradition of Neil, who had also been an English teacher in Seoul. He would likely have to serve his sentence in Thailand before being handed to another country.
Neil had come to Bangkok to get a teaching job. One official at a school where he sought work described him as an introvert who was not hired because he had difficulty cooperating with school officials and other teachers.
Neil once studied at a seminary, hoping to become a priest, but was eventually shunned by his teachers, who felt he lacked the moral backbone for the task, according to reports.
-- AFP 2008-08-15
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