BANGKOK - A Canadian at the centre of an international hunt for a pedophile whose obscured face appeared in hundreds of pornographic images posted online will be sentenced Aug. 15 for the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old boy from Thailand.
A Bangkok court announced the sentencing date Monday for Christopher Neil, 33, a schoolteacher from Maple Ridge, B.C.
He pleaded guilty May 12 to sexually abusing the Thai teen and faces up to 10 years in prison.
Neil pleaded not guilty in early June to similar charges involving the teen's brother, who was nine at the time of the alleged offence. The trial in that case begins Oct. 7.
Neil's brother, Matthew Neil, said from his B.C. home that the family did not know about the guilty plea except through media reports.
He said he has not spoken to his brother but does receive letters passed on to the family through the Canadian consulate in Thailand.
Matthew Neil said he cannot know for sure but feels his brother is getting fair treatment by Thai justice officials.
He said he doesn't his brother his under pressure to plead guilty from any of the letters he's received.
"For now, I'm under the impression that what he's doing is of his own free will.''
Neil was arrested in Thailand on Oct. 19, 2007.
The international police agency Interpol launched an investigation after some 200 photos were posted online showing a man sexually abusing at least a dozen Vietnamese and Cambodian boys, some as young as six.
The face of the perpetrator was digitally obscured by a swirling shape, but for the first time German police computer experts were able to help Interpol unscramble the image.
After Interpol issued a public appeal to help identify the man, more than 350 tips poured in. Neil was arrested 11 days later.
The nine-year-old boy contacted police after seeing Neil on television following his arrest.
Neil at times appeared agitated at Monday's court proceedings but later joked with his translator.
He refused to comment to a reporter when he was led out of the courtroom dressed in his prison uniform and wearing ankle chains.
The victim in this case, who is now 18, and his father have testified that the youngster went to Neil's apartment in Bangkok where the crime was committed. Photos that allegedly showed Neil engaging in sexual acts and playing with naked or partially clothed young boys were also presented.
Neil admitted through his translator that he took the photos but said he did not post the pictures online.
In the case involving the nine-year-old boy, Neil faces up to 20 years in prison on charges that include sexually abusing a minor, videotaping the alleged abuse, taking a child without parental consent, and holding him against his will.
The child claims Neil paid him between $15 and $30 to perform oral sex in 2003, while he was living in Thailand.
Matthew Neil said his brother's arrest has been difficult for the family. He said they will decide once the sentencing is complete whether they will go to see him in a Thai prison.
"In a way, I'm glad that he's taken responsibility for his actions in that particular case,'' he said.
