Thai police, FBI arrest “most-wanted” paedophile

BANGKOK (AFP): An American paedophile rated by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as one of its 10 “most wanted” fugitives was arrested this morning in the Thai capital. Thai police working with FBI officers collared 48-year-old pianist Eric Franklin Rosser, who is charged with producing and possessing child pornography and exporting it to the United States. After his arrest he was paraded in handcuffs in front of the media, and photographed behind a desk stacked with evidence including books and videotapes. Rosser, an internationally-known musician who once played keyboards with US rock singer John Mellencamp, was arrested in February last year but absconded after being released on bail of one million baht (22,250 dollars). The self-confessed paedophile is accused of being the mastermind behind a child pornography ring based in Bangkok, where he operated a piano school for well-to-do children and played in the city’s top hotels. Thai police said that after fleeing Thailand Rosser took refuge in several European countries, including the Netherlands, Britain and France, before returning to Thailand on a fake passport. He worked in Bangkok as a language tutor for two months before his arrest today in a suburban street. Rosser now faces deportation to the United States where he has been indicted by a federal grand jury on six counts of producing and distributing pornography. After his arrest last year, a major Bangkok newspaper published a letter from Rosser in which he confessed to sexual acts with children and pleaded for understanding.