Paedophile revealed as US serial offender

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/

Written by Kyle Sherer
Thursday, 21 May 2009

US media this week uncovered the past of a convicted child molester awaiting trial in Siem Reap.

CONVICTED child molester Jack Sporich's world is becoming increasingly turbulent following his "outing" last week in the US media as a notorious serial offender.

Sporich has been awaiting trial for four months in Siem Reap prison, after being arrested and charged in February on suspicion of luring four Cambodian boys to his Siem Reap house and abusing them.

Last week news of his impending trial hit the US media and was sent around the world on newswires, after the realisation that he was a serial offender who had earlier made headlines in California.

Even his sister, who had previously supported him, said she hopes he stays locked up for good.

"I don't want him out anymore," the sister, June Caine, told the Sacramento Bee. "I think he's sick and he's never going to get well."

The Sacramento Bee reported last week that before moving to Cambodia, the 74-year-old spent nine years in a California prison for lewd acts with children under 14, and served a 39-month stint in Atascadero State Hospital, where he refused treatment.

Sporich gained regular access to children by leading camping trips, an activity for which he was often paid by unsuspecting parents. The article quoted American prosecutors as saying he may have molested up to 500 children.

After his release, Sporich claimed that he would rather shoot himself than return to jail or state care. But his latest offence carries a possibility of three years in a Cambodian lockup.

Sporich has been charged with indecent acts and is being held pretrial, a wait which could be as long as one year. When the Post tried to interview him in Siem Reap's new prison last Friday, Sporich appeared collected and self-assured and asked if he was being visited by the US embassy.

But when he realised the embassy had not come to him, he stormed out of the room on the verge of tears.

Sporich's trial is being monitored by the NGO Action Pour Les Enfants. Executive Director Seila Samleang said that the organisation is looking after the well-being of the four children that Sporich is suspected of violating. The boys, aged 11 to 14, are staying at the organisation's Siem Reap recovery centre.