NZ child-abuse police probing man held in Bangkok

A New Zealand man arrested in Bangkok for allegedly sexually exploiting children was known to police here about 20 years ago.

Wellington's child-abuse team confirmed yesterday that they are looking into Ryan William James' past, following a charge in Thailand that he "separated underage boys from their parents".

James, 48, is understood to have left New Zealand 20 years ago.

Detective Sergeant Glenn Williams said a file relating to him dates to 1986, when he would have been in his late 20s.

"He hasn't been charged but because of that there are no computer records so we have to go and find the manual records."

James turned up last week when Thai police raided his apartment in Bangkapi, a suburb of Bangkok.

He was allegedly found with six boys aged 13 and 14. Police found hundreds of pornographic videos.

A New Zealand police officer based in Bangkok said James had been charged with "separating underage boys from their parents without reason".

Although he ran the James Communication Company, he apparently kept a low profile among the New Zealand expatriate business community in Bangkok.

He was not a member of the Thai New Zealand Chamber of Commerce. President Bronwen Evans said the expat scene was close-knit but no one she had spoken to had heard of James.

The Thai office of Ecpat, the international group working to end sexual exploitation of children, interprets the charge of separating children from their parents as child-trafficking.

"If anybody takes a child from where they're living and moves them somewhere else for the purposes of sexual exploitation that is the definition of trafficking we work by," said spokeswoman Karen Mangnall.

The New Zealand director of Ecpat, Alan Bell, says the case highlights the need for urgent action on people who prey on children while overseas.

"This arrest confirms many anecdotal reports received by us regarding visitors sexually abusing children," he said. "The offenders can be from businessmen to backpackers but there is a common concern - not enough is being done to bring these people to justice."

Ecpat is launching a campaign to raise awareness and identify the extent of the abuse being carried out. A website, www.reportchildsex.com, will be launched shortly to give people an easy way to report child sexual abuse to Ecpat.