Kruispad
26/08/2008 (SA)
Phnom Penh - A Cambodian court on Tuesday cut a convicted Belgian paedophile's prison sentence from 18 years to three years, citing a change in child abuse laws.
Philippe Dessart, 48, was arrested in 2006 in a Phnom Penh guesthouse with a naked 13-year-old boy in his room. He was charged with debauchery and sentenced the same year to 18 years in jail.
The Court of Appeals reduced his sentence after downgrading the charges against Dessart from debauchery to indecent acts against minors.
"The court found Philippe Dessart guilty of committing indecent acts," judge Um Sarith said.
Dessart was not present for the ruling, but his lawyer said he was "satisfied" with the appeal court's decision.
Cambodia used to apply its debauchery law to almost all sex crimes, but has recently updated its statutes to include the new charge of indecent acts.
Dessart has admitted he was convicted in 1992 of child sex charges in Belgium and imprisoned for three years, but has repeatedly insisted he has done nothing wrong in Cambodia since first arriving in the country in 2001.
Dozens of foreigners have been jailed for child sex crimes or deported to face trial in their home countries since Cambodia launched an anti-paedophilia push in 2003 in a bid to shake off its reputation as a haven for sex predators.
26/08/2008 (SA)
Phnom Penh - A Cambodian court on Tuesday cut a convicted Belgian paedophile's prison sentence from 18 years to three years, citing a change in child abuse laws.
Philippe Dessart, 48, was arrested in 2006 in a Phnom Penh guesthouse with a naked 13-year-old boy in his room. He was charged with debauchery and sentenced the same year to 18 years in jail.
The Court of Appeals reduced his sentence after downgrading the charges against Dessart from debauchery to indecent acts against minors.
"The court found Philippe Dessart guilty of committing indecent acts," judge Um Sarith said.
Dessart was not present for the ruling, but his lawyer said he was "satisfied" with the appeal court's decision.
Cambodia used to apply its debauchery law to almost all sex crimes, but has recently updated its statutes to include the new charge of indecent acts.
Dessart has admitted he was convicted in 1992 of child sex charges in Belgium and imprisoned for three years, but has repeatedly insisted he has done nothing wrong in Cambodia since first arriving in the country in 2001.
Dozens of foreigners have been jailed for child sex crimes or deported to face trial in their home countries since Cambodia launched an anti-paedophilia push in 2003 in a bid to shake off its reputation as a haven for sex predators.
No comments:
Post a Comment