B.C. pedophile a test case for child sex-tourism law
PORT COQUITLAM — Canadian authorities are making their first real attempt at prosecuting a globally- known convicted pedophile under rarely used child-sex tourism legislation.
Christopher Neil was the subject of Interpol’s largest international manhunt at the time of his arrest in 2007 and ultimately imprisoned for five years in Thailand.
Until now, he hasn’t face charges in Canada for several allegations in connection with crimes overseas.
The British Columbia man briefly made a first appearance in provincial court Monday to face five charges stemming from accusations of sex offences involving children in Cambodia in 2003. He’s also accused of child pornography-related crimes in B.C., resulting in five additional charges.
The charges based on investigations abroad are significant, Neil’s lawyer said outside court.
“From a legal standpoint, Crown was telling me today there’s only been three or four other charges of this kind in all of Canada,” said Mark Thompson. “I suspect he’ll plead not guilty.”
Neil strode into the prisoner’s enclosure in Port Coquitlam provincial court Monday before lawyers requested a bail hearing be set for April 10.
The brief appearance was sedate compared to the flurry that ensued when police paraded him past media in Thailand in 2007.
Neil’s image became ubiquitous on major TV news networks owing to a flashy graphic released by computer experts unravelling a distorted picture of his face, leading to him being dubbed “Swirl Face.”
Gravity of the more than decade-old accusations is apparent in how that file is currently viewed. At a mass gathering of law enforcement experts in London in early October, Interpol cited its search for Neil as an example of a classic international investigation.
In September 2012, he was returned to Canada after being released early from a nine-year sentence for sexually assaulting two boys.
The subject matter of the new charges was not covered in the case prosecuted in Thailand, said Neil MacKenzie, spokesman for B.C.’s Criminal Justice Branch.
He said it’s possible Neil could be punished much more harshly if convicted here in his home country.
Each of the five Cambodia-linked charges — two each of sexual touching and invitation to sexual touching, as well as production of child pornography — carry a 10-year maximum sentence.
Neil was arrested Friday following investigations by Vancouver police and the RCMP’s childexploitation unit. He remains in custody.