PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A 61-year-old German man was charged on Monday with sexual abuse of four Cambodian children, the latest Westerner to be charged with similar crimes as Southeast Asia cracks down on paedophile tourists.
Jopen Reimund Hubert of Cologne was arrested in a raid on his Phnom Penh hotel room. He was found with a 14-year-old girl, said Colonel Keo Thea, chief of Phnom Penh's anti-trafficking unit.
Police also said they confiscated scores of pornographic pictures stored in his computer, including a picture of one of the four girls.
Prosecutor Sok Kalyan said he had charged Hubert with sexual abuse of the girls, which could land him in jail for up to 20 years.
Hubert, who denied the charges, was remanded in custody and could spend up to six months behind bars while police complete their investigation.
"I did nothing bad," he told Reuters when he appeared in court for a remand hearing.
"The girl in my room, I saved her from committing suicide. She has problem with her parents," he said. "I spent my own money to support those girls to go to school, buy food, and clothes. This all a mistake."
Activists of the Action Pour Les Enfants anti-paedophile group said they had followed Hubert for the last two years and tipped police off about him after he was seen with four girls in the beach town of Sihanoukville.
Jopen Reimund Hubert of Cologne was arrested in a raid on his Phnom Penh hotel room. He was found with a 14-year-old girl, said Colonel Keo Thea, chief of Phnom Penh's anti-trafficking unit.
Police also said they confiscated scores of pornographic pictures stored in his computer, including a picture of one of the four girls.
Prosecutor Sok Kalyan said he had charged Hubert with sexual abuse of the girls, which could land him in jail for up to 20 years.
Hubert, who denied the charges, was remanded in custody and could spend up to six months behind bars while police complete their investigation.
"I did nothing bad," he told Reuters when he appeared in court for a remand hearing.
"The girl in my room, I saved her from committing suicide. She has problem with her parents," he said. "I spent my own money to support those girls to go to school, buy food, and clothes. This all a mistake."
Activists of the Action Pour Les Enfants anti-paedophile group said they had followed Hubert for the last two years and tipped police off about him after he was seen with four girls in the beach town of Sihanoukville.
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