Police arrest Dutchman for alleged child molestation

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Buleleng, Bali

Police in the Bali regency of Buleleng are questioning a Dutch national who has been arrested for an alleged sexual abuse of minors.

The police have taken statements from three boys who said that the 44-year-old Dutchman, identified only by his initials as MC, had sodomized them. But detective chief Adj. Comr. M. Mughoni said he was looking for two more children who might have also fallen victim to the abuse.

"We suspect that many more children have been sexually abused by a pedophile ring operating here," Mughoni said on Monday.

He said one of the children, KK, 9, who is now under police protection, told officers that the Dutchman had sodomized him four months ago in a hotel in the Lovina tourist resort in Buleleng, where MC was staying. KK is a resident of Kalibukbuk village near Lovina.

Police said the Dutchman, a retired civil servant, offered a group of boys sponsorship for their soccer team to win their trust.

"The suspect often bought gifts, such as soccer boots or T- shirts, for the children," said Mughoni.

Police arrested MC on Thursday just as he was about to check out of his hotel. The officers seized a laptop, which they said contained pictures of naked children.

Mughoni said the suspect had long been on the police's wanted list, but the arrest was only made last week following a complaint filed by the Committee Against Sexual Abuse (CASA), which helps the victims of child abuse.

Buleleng Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Sukawinaya said the police had difficulty in pinning anything on the suspect as the victims were either afraid or to embarrassed to file a complaint.

MC will be charged under the Child Protection Law and the Criminal Code.

Mughoni said the police had notified the Dutch embassy of the suspect's arrest.

The most recent pedophilia case in Buleleng prior to this one was uncovered in 2001, and involved an Italian national. The Italian received a 10-month prison for the offense.

Last year, a former Australian diplomat was sentenced to 13 years for the same crime. He committed suicide in his cell just a day after his conviction.

The diplomat, William Stuart Brown, had complained to his lawyer that he had been unjustly treated by the Amlapura District Court that convicted him of sexually abusing two children.

CASA chief Luh Ketut Suryani, a professor of psychiatry at the Denpasar-based Udayana University, said the island was a popular tourist destination that could be a safe haven for pedophiles around the world to stalk their prey.