American ‘Twisted Travelers’ Charged for Child Sex in Cambodia
The US government is cracking down on American sex tourists who take trips to Cambodia to molest minors, an unfortunately common phenomenon in that country, with the new "Twisted Traveler" international law-enforcement initiative -- and three U citizens just became the first to find out what the changes mean for those who get caught.
The U.S. government is cracking down on American sex tourists who take trips to Cambodia to molest minors, an unfortunately common phenomenon in that country, with the new “Twisted Traveler” international law-enforcement initiative — and three U.S. citizens just became the first to find out what the changes mean for those who get caught. –KA
Wait, before you go…Los Angeles Times:
Ronald Gerard Boyajian, 49, of Menlo Park, Calif.; Erik Leonardus Peeters, 41, of Norwalk; and Jack Louis Sporich, 75, formerly of Santa Monica and currently living in Sedona, Ariz., were arrested by Cambodian police in February, authorities said. They were recently expelled from the country and arrived Monday at LAX in the custody of U.S. immigration officials.
The three men, all previously convicted of sex offenses in the United States, were charged here in absentia earlier this year with traveling overseas for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors, a charge that could bring up to 30 years per victim, authorities said.
[…] “These types of cases are disturbing not only because young, defenseless children were victimized in unspeakable ways,” U.S. Atty. Thomas O’Brien said at a news conference Monday. “But also because the defendants went to such lengths to engage in their dark activities overseas.”
Although they were also charged in Cambodia for their alleged crimes, O’Brien said the sentences they face in the U.S. if convicted are “severely stronger.”
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