Paedophile who fled to Thailand jailed

An “untouchable” Dundee paedophile has finally been jailed following an eight-year international manhunt.

William Demspter fled to Thailand while out on bail, awaiting sentence for possession of child abuse material.

The fugitive had been hiding from authorities in the coastal city of Pattaya since May 2014, when he was caught with a stash of 60,000 illicit files.

The 46-year-old, who stayed on South George Street, Dundee, before moving to Lanarkshire, was arrested earlier this summer following a joint operation by Scottish and Thai forces.

He was extradited from Asia and appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court yesterday.

He was jailed for 18 months and put on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

After he failed to appear in court for sentencing in 2014, investigators discovered he had flown to Bangkok from Heathrow Airport.

It was only last year, following a complex legal challenge, that Thai authorities were able to consider extraditing him.