Paedophile, 77, jailed 18 months for sexually abusing three boys
A 77-year-old British man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison in Cambodia for sexually abusing three boys. Roy Sheppard was sentenced by a provincial court in the north-eastern province of Siem Reap for indecent acts committed against three boys aged 12 to 16 years old.
Advertisement
Action Pour Les Enfants, a non-governmental organisation that combats the sexual exploitation of children, said Sheppard was arrested in October after complaints were received from the boys' parents.
It said it was unclear if he would serve his sentence, since he was at large after being released on bail for health reasons.
Poverty and poor law enforcement have made Cambodia a magnet for foreign paedophiles, but the government has cracked down on sex offenders in the past decade.
Sheppard was also ordered to pay a total of 12 million riel (£2,000) in compensation to the three victims and be deported from Cambodia after he finishes his sentence, Action Pour Les Enfants said.
Police believe the ex-air traffic controller used cash and gifts to tempt the young boys into going with him to his flat.
Once there, it is thought the father-of-two paid the children around £7 to have sex with him, and gave four children bicycles.
Cambodia is a magnet for so-called ‘sex tourists’ from across Europe, due to the country’s high level of poverty and poor child protection laws.
Notorious paedophile Gary Glitter, 71, fled to Cambodia after being caught in the UK in 1997 with 4,000 graphic images of children on his computer.
David Fletcher, from Norwich, was also convicted of twice raping a 17-year-old girl in Cambodia.