An Australian was arrested in November 1993 in Chiang Mai and in 1994,
sentenced to 2 years 6 months in jail on charges related to child
pornography and desecration of holy images involving girls aged 8 and 12
years. He is awaiting trail on much more serious child abuse charges.
A Frenchman, arrested in November 1993 in Bangkok for abusing two street
boys under 15 years of age, was sentenced in December 1994 to 4 years in
jail.
A German arrested in December 1994 for abusing street children and
producing pornography for distribution abroad is now awaiting trail.
A man from British Guyana, arrested in July 1993 in Khon Kaen, was
charged with sexually abusing a child under 15 years of age and taking the
child away from his parents. He was sentenced in August 1994 to a total of
10 years in jail.
A Swedish man was arrested, February 1993, while committing sexual
activities with a Thai boy in a hotel room in Pattaya. He was released on
bail and managed to escape from Thailand. With good cooperation between
Thai and Swedish authorities, he was, finally, indicted and convicted by
the Swedish court in June 1995, for three months imprisonment for child
sexual abuse offence.
The Thai government's efforts
As a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the
Government of Thailand is working towards eradicating the involvement of
children in the commercial sex industry, enlisting the cooperation with many
non-governmental organizations. But the Thai Government needs your
cooperation too.
Important facts
There are a number of Children involved in commercial sex in Thailand,
but these children are not willing victims.
Giving Money to children in exchange for sexual favours is no way to
help them. It harms the children both psychologically and physically.
Some claim that children are less likely to be infected with HIV which
causes AIDS. This is a myth. In fact, children can easily become infected
and pass the disease on to others.
Penalties for child sexual abuse
Statutory rape and sexual abuse of children under the age of 15 involve
penalties ranging from 4 to 20 years of imprisonment. If the child is under
the age of 13, teh sentence could be life imprisonment.
Protect our children
You can help protect our children. Should you be approached by touts of
any type (taxi drivers, hotel staff etc.) or should you have evidence of
abuse, please report this to the proper authorities and child rights groups.
By doing so you may be saving a life.
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