US national and child sex abuse suspect Terry Darrell Smith is scheduled to be expelled from Cambodia and flown to Portland, Oregon, to face charges against him there, according to news reports.
The Oregonian newspaper Web site cited Deputy John Shoemaker of the US Marshals Service in Portland, saying that Smith will be flown back to Oregon in handcuffs to face charges of sodomy, sexual abuse and using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct.
The charges were filed six years ago, according to Thursday’s edition of the Web site.
“He won’t be coming back business class sipping champagne,” Shoemaker said.
“Fifteen years ago in Josephine County, Smith was convicted of multiple charges that he used children in displays of sexual acts. He served 15 months in prison, records show. When he got out, authorities said, he failed to register as a sex offender and eventually fled to the Philippines,” the newspaper reported.
The newspaper also said that Smith posted a $20,000 bond with the Sihanoukville court to secure his release from custody.
Sihanoukville Municipal Court Director Svay Sisarouth said Thursday that she didn’t know about the $20,000.
“We wanted him to deposit money for the bail but he said he didn’t have money,” Svay Sisarouth said.
Smith was arrested Wednesday near the US Embassy at around 5 pm and is being held at the immigration police headquarters near Phnom Penh International Airport, a senior immigration police official said.
US Embassy spokesman Jeff Daigle could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Svay Sisarouth released Smith, 54, and his Cambodian girlfriend Chea Sovannary, 26, on Aug 31, one month after they were both charged with debauchery.
Anti-pedophile NGO International Justice Mission blasted the release, stating that Smith was also wanted in the US on 13 counts of child sexual abuse.
Svay Sisarouth said it was important that Smith was released because of a head injury acquired in the 1970s.
The whereabouts of Smith’s girlfriend are unknown.
