Christopher Paul Neil, a 32-year-old Canadian teacher, sits in the cell at criminal court at his trial for sexually abusing a 9-year-old boy in Bangkok in June. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Apichart Weerawong
BANGKOK, Thailand - A Canadian schoolteacher captured in Thailand last year after an international manhunt has been convicted for the second time on charges related to his sexual abuse of children, his lawyer said Monday.
Christopher Paul Neil, who taught in several Asian countries, was arrested last year after hundreds of photos of him allegedly engaging in sex acts with young boys were discovered on the Internet.
In August, the 32-year-old, originally from Maple Ridge, B.C., pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy and was sentenced to three years and three months in jail.
On Nov. 14, Neil was convicted on charges including taking that boy’s nine-year-old brother without parental consent and holding him against his will, lawyer Ranatchai Chumthong said. He was sentenced the same day to five years.
The verdict and sentence were not reported at the time because the court had told journalists an incorrect date for the hearing. Ranatchai said he was preparing an appeal.
Neil was arrested in Thailand on Oct. 19, 2007, after Interpol unscrambled digitally altered photos that allegedly showed Neil having sex with boys.
In the photos, Neil’s face had been distorted into a swirl pattern to disguise his identity, but computer experts were able to reverse the process, rendering an identifiable image.
Interpol then distributed pictures showing the man’s face in its first ever direct appeal to the public.
Hundreds of tips were received, and Neil was arrested 11 days after the appeal was launched.
