German man sentenced to 10 years in jail for sexually abusing Cambodian boys

A German man has been sentenced by a court in southwestern Cambodia to 10 years in jail for sexually abusing young boys, a judge said Thursday.

Photo: German man sentenced to 10 years in jail for sexually abusing Cambodian boys

Alexander Watrin, 36, was convicted Tuesday of debauchery for molesting four boys aged 7 to 15 after a trial in Cambodia's coastal city of Sihanoukville, Svay Sisaroath, the presiding judge, said Thursday.

She said she has also ordered Watrin to pay US$5,000 (Ђ3,986) in compensation to the boys.

Debauchery is Cambodia's legal term for sex acts involving minors, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Police arrested Watrin in April after receiving a tip from the French child advocacy group Action Pour Les Enfants (Action for Children).

Watrin allegedly molested the boys, paying them US$5 (Ђ4) to US$10 (Ђ8) each time he had sex with them, Sihanoukville deputy police chief Chor Heng has said.

Two other German nationals are currently in Cambodian jails awaiting trial on charges of allegedly having sex with young girls. Police arrested them in August in the capital Phnom Penh, reports AP.

With lax law enforcement and poverty, Cambodia has become a major destination for foreigners seeking sex with minors. But police have recently stepped up their effort to fight the crime.

Meanwhile, a spokesman from the Interior Ministry said Thursday that Cambodia has expelled an American citizen to face sex crime charges in the United States.

U.S. law enforcement agents escorted Terry D. Smith, 54, on a flight out of Cambodia last Saturday, Police Lt. Gen. Khieu Sopheak said.

Smith is wanted in Portland, Oregon, on sodomy, sexual abuse and other charges filed six years ago.

Before his expulsion, Cambodian police arrested Smith on charges of sex acts involving minors in Sihanoukville, about 185 kilometers (115 miles) southwest of Phnom Penh.

Police seized 10 pornographic videotapes, which included scenes of Smith allegedly having sex with two underage girls.