CAMBODIA: POLICE CRACKDOWN ON POSSIBLE PEDOPHILE NETWORK

UNCLAS PHNOM PENH 001519

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR G/TIP, EAP/MLS and EAP/RSP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL KWMN CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIA: POLICE CRACKDOWN ON POSSIBLE PEDOPHILE NETWORK



1. (U) Summary: Police from the Phnom Penh anti-Trafficking Unit
arrested five individuals, including two German nationals, for their
alleged involvement in the sexual exploitation of four underage
girls. The German suspects are accused of debauchery; the others,
one of whom is the mother of two of the victims, are
Vietnamese-Cambodians accused of procuring underage girls for the
foreigners. Police believe the detainees are part of a pedophile
network, and are investigating further. The victims were referred
to an NGO. End Summary.


2. (U) Phnom Penh police sting operations carried out from August
19 to 21 resulted in the arrest of five persons suspected of
involvement in sexual exploitation of children. Keo Thea, Deputy
Chief of the Phnom Penh anti-Trafficking Unit, reported that he
arrested three Vietnamese-Cambodians on August 19 after they, along
with four girls aged from 10 to 13, left the home of a German
national, Karl Heinz Henning, suspected of sexually abusing
children. The three Viet-Cambodian suspects, one of whom is the
mother of two victims, confessed to procuring the girls for the
man's sexual exploitation. Henning allegedly paid USD 30 for each
encounter, and the procurers received 40 to 50 percent of that
amount. On August 20, police raided Henning's home and found
pornographic pictures and videos. The following day, police
arrested another German national, Thoman Baron von Engelhardt, who
was seen in the video footage with Henning. With the exception of
Henning, who was hospitalized in an escape attempt, the suspects
were sent to court to face charges.


3. (U) Mr. Keo Thea said that police started investigating Henning
two months ago after receiving a tip from the anti-TIP NGO Action
Pour Les Enfants (APLE). He said that he believes that the German
suspects belong to a greater pedophile network, as police found more
than 1,600 pornographic pictures and video of Cambodian and foreign
children, some of which were posted on an Internet website. He
added that police and technicians are trying to unlock additional
computer files that were password-protected. Other children and sex
offenders were seen in the pictures and video footage; police are
currently trying to determine their identities. Thea said that an
investigation is underway, and he believes that more pedophiles
active in Cambodia will be arrested.


MUSOMELLI