A 75-year-old American was arrested Monday in Siem Reap town for allegedly sexually abusing at least three boys in their early teens, police said Tuesday.
Sun Bunthorng, chief of the provincial anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection bureau, said police arrested Jack Louis Sporich for having sex with three boys younger than 15.
“He dropped money for children to pick up in the rural areas,” he said by telephone before referring questions to provincial court Prosecutor Bou Bun Hang.
Bou Bun Hang said that Sporich was still in police custody and referred questions to police.
Samleang Seila, country director at anti-pedophile NGO Action Pour Les Enfants, said Tuesday by telephone that APLE had been investigating Sporich since mid-2008 and claimed that the American had abused four boys between the ages of 9 and 13.
Sporich allegedly lured the children by dropping dollar bills and riel notes on the street, he said.
In a separate case, the Appeal Court on Tuesday upheld the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Court’s guilty verdict against German national Alexander Watrin, who was found guilty in 2006 of sexually abusing four boys, according to Appeal Court Judge Chuon Sunleng.
However, the Appeal Court reduced Watrin’s prison sentence from 10 to seven years to comply with the new anti-human trafficking law, Chuon Sunleng said, adding that Watrin would still have to pay the $5,000 in compensation as ordered by the provincial court.
