Foreign Sex Tourism to Bali..

I read this the other day and sort of pondered whether to write about it or not. I pondered because writing about how the system fails so enormously might encourage pedophiles to chance their hand in the wild frontiers of child sex tourism that are the poor provinces of Eastern Bali. The most impoverished of the provinces; Singaraja, Buleleng, and Karangasem, are those that are most at risk.

Sadly, according to the report, it is predominantly Australians that are taking advantage of Bali's children and sexually abusing them. The reported figures are the tip of the iceberg as a great many of the outrages perpetrated against these children are never reported nor, if they are reported, ever pursued to prosecution. Nevertheless, this is not exclusively Australian perpetrators as there are offenders from all parts of the globe, including Europe (Germany, France, The Netherlands, to name but a few) and the US.

The problem though is not exclusively one of poverty, although poverty is a significant factor, but rather of apathy and corruption combined with an inordinate amount of red tape from a cumbersome bureaucracy that is not pro-active in protecting and supporting children who have been abused.

There were thirteen foreign pedophiles convicted of child sex offences in the period between 2001 and 2008. This does not seem like a large amount considering that there were more than 200 reported incidents of child sex abuse.  A local non-governmental organisation, Committee Against Sexual Abuse, estimates that there are some 150 pedophiles operating on Bali. It does not help that Singaraja does not yet record data relating to pedophiles or child sex crimes.

I appreciate that these crimes can be difficult to investigate and prosecute because not all children or their families are willing to report sexual abuse or suspicions of sexual abuse. I also appreciate that some families unwittingly sell their children into the sex trade in the belief that the "real" intent of the trafficker is to provide an education and a job. Then there are others who perhaps do this knowingly. However, what I cannot understand is why police would not want to investigate pedophilia in a more pro-active way considering that it is a known problem in the areas of Eastern Bali?

Although, in the big scheme of things I am probably less surprised than I should be that one can place a "price" on the violation of a child. Maybe it is just a simple case of everything has its price, and the price to turn a blind eye to the sexual violation of children in impoverished places is undoubtedly not that much.

Is the answer as simple as education and community outreach where men, women, and children are taught that it is not OK to be sexually abused in exchange for food or payment of one's school fees. There is no problem if someone wants to provide you food or fees for school as a gift, but this does not mean that you owe them the innocence of your children to pay off some alleged debt.

It would appear that the modus operandi is now one of "out of sight, out of mind" as pedophiles go further and further away from main urban areas in search of their victims.

What I do not get at the moment, and perhaps this is a lack of research, is why Australia is not more pro-active in pursuing Australian pedophiles wherever they may be found. Australia has laws on its statute books that provide for jail terms of up to 17 years and fines of up to AUD 500,000 for those convicted of child sex offences. The law has been drafted as such that the crime does not have to occur in Australia. The law simply states that anyone who engages in a sexual act with a child under 16 or grooms a child under 16 for sex is guilty of a crime, even where the offence is committed overseas.

The Australian Federal Police website includes a section on Child Sex Tourism and has forms to complete for those who have suspicions about Australians who may have committed a child sex offence overseas.

I am not sure what the point of this post is. It is an issue that bothers me and it is one that I think needs more attention. Perhaps, it is as a father of a young son I cannot fathom such an atrocity happening to him. Perhaps, it is because as an educator I feel a responsibility to ensure that children are safe and know what is acceptable and what is not, after all, our children are our future. Maybe, it is just that getting it out there will get us thinking about it and being more vigilant in our own worlds.

Robby Shine Rapes a 13-Year-Old?

Robby Shine is an Indonesian actor. He is also allegedly responsible for the rape of a 13-year-old.

Shine was in Batam for an Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) event where he was scheduled to present. However, in his spare time leading up to the event, Shine hit the town and met up with a 13-year-old fan and decided that it would be a good idea to take her to a pub, load her up with alcohol, and then take her back to his hotel. It is at his hotel that he is alleged to have raped and sexually molested her.

Apparently, Shine had promised to make the girl famous. Irrespective of the outcome of the investigation and any subsequent trial, he has in fact made her famous. I would hazard a guess that this is not what the young girl, who has been identified only as "S", had in mind when she met Shine.

The police have stated that they have the testimony of the victim and CCTV footage from the hotel that presumably confirms that the girl was there. Once the girls parents found out about the alleged sexual assault, they immediately reported it to police. Shine was arrested at the Hang Nadim airport as he was about to board a flight to Jakarta.

The festival organisers have apologised for the controversy.

Everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence until such time as they are proven to be guilty. However, if he is proven guilty and sentenced to prison, the treatment of child sex offenders in prison by other prisoners is notoriously bad. I might try and follow developments in this case, particularly whether it goes to trial and if it does, what the verdict is.

Trying this Digg It thing.

Photo courtesy of Facebook.

UN Peacekeepers and Sex Crimes...

It is too bad that national authorities have the prime responsibility for punishing their nationals who commit sex crimes whilst on active duty with the United Nations (UN). Too bad, because most national authorities fail to appreciate the seriousness of the offenses, quite often perpetrated against children, or there is just no desire to prosecute at the national level.

Nevertheless, at least 50 peacekeepers have been punished by their respective national authorities for sex crimes committed whilst in the service of the UN. The punishments have been somewhat on the light side with most seeing a reduction in rank and the most serious punishment being a stint of eight months in jail.

The UN released the data after repeated requests to do so. However, the UN did not publicize the identities or the nations of the perpetrators of these outrages against human dignity.

Unfortunately for the UN, the UN can investigate the alleged crimes and forward relevant data and information to the relevant national authority. However, it is the national authority that makes the determination to prosecute or not. The data shows that although prosecutions for sex crimes is increasing, there are still vast numbers of allegations that go untried.

Priests, Children, Grooming, Chatting, and Sex...

Robert Fuller, a 54-year-old Catholic priest, has been arrested and refused bail for allegedly attempting to groom a child under 16 for sex. Fuller is the parish priest at Liverpool. The long story short is that police masquerading as a 13-year-old girl had a series of 25 sexually explicit chats, on Yahoo7, with Fuller during July and August, where it is alleged that Fuller tried to lure the "non-existent" girl to a meeting for the purposes of having sex with her.

Strangely enough, Fuller expressed during one of the chats that he was a little worried about getting into trouble because of the girls age. However, according to the "facts" that the police have tendered to the court this did not stop Fuller from turning on his web cam and masturbating during one of the chats with the police officer from the Child Exploitation Internet Unit of the Sex Crimes Squad. All the while the priest was masturbating he was allegedly encouraging the girl to masturbate as well.

All involved, the Magistrate, the Police Prosecutor, and the Defence lawyer all concede that the case is a solid one.

I am guessing that the image above is not a web cam capture of the priest flogging himself silly.

Look, if two consenting adults want to have a bit of a chat and it is on topics that might pique the sexual interest of both and they find other associated activities get them to where they want to be, then so be it. However, where adults target children for sexual activity, then there is a line that is clearly crossed and these adults must feel the full force of the law.

This is certainly a WTF moment. Like, Father Fuller WTF were you thinking!

Alleged Australian Sex Offender Arrested in Bali

Paul Francis Callahan fled Australia in 2003 headed for Bali after allegations surfaced that he had committed sex offences in Canberra.

Australian authorities learned of Callahan's whereabouts and placed a request with Indonesian Police to arrest him. The Indonesian Police granted the request and Callahan was arrested last Saturday in Kuta.

Callahan is currently in custody and awaiting an extradition hearing at the Denpasar District Court. By all accounts the hearing should be a mere formality.

Callahan on arrival in Bali has opened a surf gear business, married a local woman, and has a child with her. Strangely, this part of the tale sounds all too ordinary and is perhaps a case of evil living among us and we do not even know it!