PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) A Cambodian court on Thursday sentenced a German man to seven years in prison for paying for sexual acts with minors.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court found Hans Gandner, 69, guilty of molesting two 13-year-old boys and paying them $5 to $10 each in return.
In addition to the prison sentence, Gandner was ordered to pay a 4 million riel ($1,000) fine and a total of 5 million riel ($1,250) in compensation to the two boys. The court also ordered that Gandner be deported after he serves his sentence.
Poverty and poor law enforcement have made Cambodia a magnet for foreign pedophiles, but in recent years authorities have increasingly cracked down on sex offenders.
Gandner, a Hamburg native, was arrested in April after he was witnessed molesting one boy, according to the child protection group Action Pour Les Enfants. Gandner then confessed to also abusing another boy, the group said. He admitted in court to having molested the boys and apologized for the harm he caused them, APLE said.
