PLANNED DEPORTATION OF BELGIAN PEDOPHILE SHOWCASES

UNCLAS PHNOM PENH 000706 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, P, D, DRL, G/TIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KTIP CB SUBJECT: PLANNED DEPORTATION OF BELGIAN PEDOPHILE SHOWCASES RGC/NGO COOPERATION SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) agreed on September 16 to deport a convicted Belgian pedophile who NGOs claim presents a high risk of recidivism. The agreement illustrates the RGC's political will to fight child sex tourism (CST) and the ability of the RGC to cooperate with NGOs to find a satisfactory solution to the problem. END SUMMARY ¶2. (SBU) Cambodian courts convicted Belgian pedophile Philippe Dessart in 2006 for debauchery of a 13-year old boy and sentenced him to 18 years in prison. Dessart appealed, and in 2008 the Appeals Court upheld the guilty verdict but reduced the sentence to three years under the Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. The Supreme Court upheld the changes made by the Appeals Court in March 2009, and Dessart was released in April 2009 after serving the three years in prison. (NOTE: In 1991, Dessart also served prison time in Belgium after being convicted of child rape and torture in that country. END NOTE) Following his release in Cambodia, Dessart moved back into the home of his victim (now 16),claiming an intent to marry his victim's mother and live with them in Banteay Meanchey Province. ¶3. (SBU) On August 6, a number of NGOs that work to combat child sex tourism and trafficking sent a petition to the Immigration Department at the Ministry of Interior requesting Dessart's expulsion from Cambodia. The petition argued that Dessart presented a high risk of re-offending, remained a danger to children in Cambodia, and as a convicted felon was eligible to be deported from Cambodia under existing immigration law. General Sok Phal, Deputy Commissioner General of the Cambodian National Police (CNP),thereafter informed the NGOs that immigration police detained Dessart in Banteay Meanchey Province on September 16, and intended to deport Dessart after revoking his Cambodian visa. Sok Phal told NGO contacts that CNP Commissioner General Neth Savoeun and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng both reviewed the NGO petition, and agreed that deporting Dessart was "the right thing to do" given the risk he presents to the safety of Cambodian children. The decision is not yet public, but because both the case and the petition have had an extremely high profile in Cambodia, the news is expected to become public shortly. ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: This decision by senior law enforcement leadership demonstrates the political will at the highest levels of the MOI to combat CST. And because CST creates potential for trafficking when middle-men find and sell victims to pedophiles, the decision also has positive implications for the RGC's anti-trafficking efforts. Even more encouraging is the evidence of cooperation between the RGC and NGOs. The NGOs presented a well-reasoned petition to the Ministry of Interior (MOI) that argued for Dessart's expulsion under Cambodian law. The fact that the most senior leaders of the police and MOI accepted the petition, gave it fair consideration in a relatively quick timeframe, and concurred with its recommendation showcases the increasingly positive relationship between the RGC and NGOs on anti-trafficking issues. END COMMENT. RODLEY