22 victims in 2017 child porn cases receive compensation
TWENTY two victims of child pornography in Siem Reap province received $11,000 in civil compensation, after the Dutch offender Sarot Evrard Nicolas served his jail sentence.
According to Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE), this is the justice that the male victims have been waiting for since the sexual offence was committed on them in 2017.
On December 3, APLE issued a press release saying the 22 male victims had received compensation on November 26, three years after winning the court case against Nicolas
The press release said that Nicolas, 54, was sentenced to five years of imprisonment in 2018 by the Siem Reap Provincial Court.
He was given an order to pay a tota l compensation of 44 million riels (approx imately $11,000) to the 22 v ictims, as stated under t he Article 41 of the Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation.
APLE’s law yer said t hat t he process of seek ing just ice for child v ictims and plaintif f is long and dif ficult. The sentence and compensation give a sense of justice to t he v ictims, helping them in t heir recover y.
One child victim’s mother said, she received the civil compensation in November 2020 but it does not repair the damage to her son and it is not a large amount.
“However, I will use t he money to support my child’s daily life and education for a short while. It cannot repair the damages to my child ver y much,” she said.
APLE said that this case traces back to 2017, when 22 boys below 15 years of age were rescued by the police with APLE’s collaboration.
At that time, the police received a tip-off from a community member of a village in Siem Reap, where the abuse was taking place.
“Police found numerous photos of naked children in his electronic devices. The children were immediately referred to social services, and the legal case started in 2018,”APLE said.
On December 3, APLE Child Protection Specialist Vando Khoem told The Post that for now, the offender had already served the sentence and he didn’t continue to stay in Cambodia anymore.
Vando is happy that the child victims had received the compensation. But, he said that in some abuse cases, the victims did not receive any compensation when offenders serve jail sentences.
“Today, the 22 child victims continue to live in their community. Some of them continued their studies as usual and some others has been helping their families make ends meet,” he said.
Vando hopes all sexual abuse victims, especially children, will receive justice in both criminal and civil cases.