Cambodia arrests American Aero CEO on suspicion of sex with minors

Cambodian juvenile protection police has arrested American national B.D.N., CEO and founder of an aviation company in Cambodia, on the suspicion of sexually abusing minors, an anti-pedophile agency said in a statement on Sunday. "The American national B.D.N. was caught red-handed by Tonle Basac police on Friday while engaging in sex with a twelve-year- old girl in the presence of two other underage girls,"child protection NGO Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) said in the statement. "The suspect lured the girls to a quiet place surrounding Koh Pich Island where he sexually abused one of the girls with the promise to pay her 20 U.S. dollars and 15 U.S. dollars to each of the other two girls."

After the arrest, police of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Department took over the case, it said.

The statement said APLE assisted police in identifying more victims, and a total of six victims have disclosed that they've been sexually exploited on different occasions.

APLE declines to disclose the full name of the suspect until he is convicted. "We applaud the response of the Cambodian police and active involvement of the U.S. authorities to bring this man behind bar," APLE's deputy director Khoem Vando said.

Keo Thea, chief of Phnom Penh Municipal Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Police, has yet not be reached for comment over the case on Sunday. Endi