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Man charged with abusing girl
05/11/2007 16:20 - (SA)
Phnom Penh - A Cambodian court on Monday charged a German man with debauchery after police allegedly found him in bed with a 14-year-old girl, court officials said.
Hubert Jopen Reimund, 61, was detained on Thursday for allegedly sexually abusing the girl after a raid on his hotel room in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
Reimund, from Cologne, was questioned by court officials for about two hours at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court where he was then charged.
The crime covers a wide range of sex offences and carries a maximum jail term of 20 years.
Child welfare group Action Pour Les Enfants, which co-operated with police in the arrest, welcomed the court's action.
"We are happy to see the charges against the suspect. This shows the result of our work to protect Cambodian children," said the group's director, Samleang Seila.
Cambodia has struggled to shed its reputation as a haven for paedophiles, jailing dozens of foreigners or deporting them for trial in their home countries.
But officials, including foreign diplomats, are urging the authorities to target Cambodian paedophiles, who are thought to make up a large percentage of sex offenders.
- AFP
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