An Italian national was arrested Sunday in Phnom Penh’s notorious Svay Pak brothel district and accused of having sex with a 10- year-old girl, police said Monday.
The arrest came two days after a German national was arrested in a Phnom Penh hotel and also accused of having sexual relations with an underage girl.
Marco Mazzi, 40, was arrested Sunday at 2 pm when Svay Pak district police raided a brothel after receiving a complaint from a neighbor, said Anti-Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation Minor Officer Meng Say. He was found nude with a 10-year-old girl, Meng Say said.
The brothel owner escaped before she could be apprehended by the police, Meng Say said.
According to Meng Say, Mazzi arrived in Cambodia five days ago with the intent of opening a restaurant and nightclub. He claimed that a friend of his—a motorcycle taxi driver—brought him to the brothel, Meng Say said.
French consular officials met with Mazzi Monday, Meng Say said. There is no Italian embassy in Cambodia.
Anti-trafficking police will send Mazzi to Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday to be charged with debauchery, a crime that carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in Cambodia. The girl, Meng Say said, will be sent to the NGO Afesip Tuesday.
Pierre Legros, technical adviser to Afesip, said that he had not personally been notified by anti-trafficking police, but said that his center would certainly accept the girl.
German national Thomas Jansai, 39, who was arrested Friday, was charged with debauchery Monday for allegedly having sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl, Meng Say said. The court has four to six months to prepare a case and bring him to trial.
Jansai was arrested at Phnom Penh’s Queen Hotel when police allegedly found him in possession of photo equipment and sexual paraphernalia.
In the last six months, six foreign nationals have been arrested on debauchery charges in Cambodia. Another foreigner, Italian Alain Berruti, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexual relations with young boys.
