Phuket man arrested for sexually exploiting young boys
The Phuket Provincial Administration Promotion Office arrested a Thai man for sexually assaulting more than 10 young boys and distributing explicit videos of the victims on X (formerly Twitter). More than 1,400 indecent videos were found in his possession.
Officials received a tip-off from the non-governmental organisation Scientia that a 15 year old victim sought help from the organisation after his explicit videos were shared on the X app. The suspect, a 43 year old Thai man who worked at a hotel in Phuket, attended marathon running events to approach his victims.
The paedophile tricked young victims into having sex with him and did not use condoms during sexual activity, falsely claiming to the victims that he had medicine that could prevent sexually transmitted diseases.
The man usually tricked the victims into engaging in sexual activity in public places and group sex. He then shared the videos and pictures of the sexual intercourse on his X account. It is not yet known whether the suspect collected money from followers who wanted access to the videos.
Officers from the Phuket Provincial Administration Promotion Office arrested the man yesterday, January 16, at around 7am, as he was about to leave home for work.
Officials searched his room and seized a large number of condoms, lubricants and other related items as evidence. During the investigation of his mobile phone, officials found more than 1,400 videos of more than ten victims on the device.
Each victim was a boy aged under 15 from Phuket and other provinces. The suspect seized opportunities when attending marathon events in other provinces to find victims.
The man confessed to his criminal actions and admitted that he also tricked some victims into having sex in his car. His confession has led him to face three charges, including:
- Section 14(4) of the Computer Act: importing indecent information into the computer system which the public is likely to access. The penalty will be imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of up to 100,000 baht.
- Section 287/1 of the Criminal Law: possession and distribution of child pornography. The penalty is imprisonment of up to seven years, a fine of up to 140,000 baht, or both.
- Section 319 of the Criminal Law: abducting a minor under the age of 15 from her parents or guardians. The penalty for this offence is imprisonment for two to 10 years and a fine ranging from 40,000 to 200,000 baht
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