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VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The family of accused pedophile Christopher Neil is relieved he has been taken into custody, and his brother said today he would like to see Neil returned home to Canada.
Neil's family had urged him to surrender and face trial after learning he was the focus of a worldwide manhunt, and Matthew Neil said the family would not abandon his brother now that he had been arrested in Thailand.
"He looks tired," Matthew Neil said of the pictures of his brother after the arrest by Thai police. He said he "cannot imagine" what is going through his brother's mind.
He said the family, which lives in the Vancouver area, had not spoken to Christopher Neil since his arrest.
"I would like to see him come back to Canada, but I understand it involves an international incident and allegations," he told reporters, saying the issue was up to Thai and Canadian authorities.
Thai authorities said on Friday that Neil would be charged with molesting underage children. Thailand's deputy national police chief said Neil, who faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted in Thailand, would be prosecuted in Bangkok. But he left open the possibility Neil could be extradited after he served his sentence.
Christopher Neil became the subject of an unusual global search after German investigators used unscrambling technology and identified him as a digitally disguised face in Internet photos involving child sex abuse.
Neil was teaching in South Korea when his then-unidentified image was distributed by police worldwide in early October. The image helped police learn his name, but by then he had fled to Thailand where he taught previously.
British Columbia Attorney General Wally Oppal disclosed on Friday that Canadian police had been investigating Neil, who had also worked in the Vancouver area as a teacher and attended seminary school.
Oppal's spokesman later issued a statement to clarify that did not mean they were investigating possible incidents within Canada.
"It's our understanding that Interpol raised issues related to Mister Neil with (Canadian police). This does not mean there is any substantive basis to draw any conclusions regarding Mister Neil's activities within Canada," Shawn Robins said.
No charges have been filed in Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police refused to comment.
It is illegal for Canadians to visit other countries for the purpose of having sex with children, but the five-year-old "sex tourism" law has been rarely used and questions have been raised about its constitutionality.
It was too early to speculate if Canada would attempt to extradite Neil, Oppal said.
- REUTERS
