A Cambodian court has jailed an American lawyer, Rugh James Cline on charges of sexual abuse of three underage girls.
According to the spokesperson of the Siem Reap Provincial Court, Ying Srang, the US lawyer has been sentenced to two years and months imprisonment.
“Cline was convicted over ‘indecent acts against minors under 15 years of age’. The court heard that Cline he paid three underage girls for sex during visits in February and May 2019, Srang said.
Cline was ordered by the court to pay 15 million riels (US$3,750) in compensation to each of the girls after pleading innocent to the charges levelled against him.
According to reports, NGO investigating suspected foreign pedophiles in Cambodia, ‘Action Pour Les Enfants’, says the victims told police that he paid them a total of $120. The group, known by the acronym APLE, identified Cline as a lawyer.
The Cambodian penalty for purchase of child prostitution can go as far as 15 years imprisonment when the child is under 15 years old. APLE says that poverty and poor law enforcement make Cambodia a magnet for foreign pedophiles.