Swiss man accused of pedophilia in RI

Swiss man accused of pedophilia in RI

GENEVA (Reuters): Police in Switzerland said on Wednesday that a Swiss man had been detained in a suspected pedophile case involving abuse of children in Indonesia.

A police statement said the man, in his 40s and from the French-speaking canton of Vaud, had been placed under preventive detention for alleged sexual offenses against young boys in Indonesia from 1991 to 1997.

The man had denied the charges, the statement said.

Swiss police were collaborating with Indonesian authorities in the case, which involved children aged between five and 15.

Police said they were alerted in April after customs officials seized magazines, addressed to the man, containing pedophile photographs of young boys.

An ensuing police search at his house uncovered evidence of pedophile acts abroad by the man, the statement said.

The suspect had previously been convicted on three counts of abuse against children in the early 1980s. No date has been set for a trial on the new charges.

Under Swiss law, a person who has committed a crime in another country can be prosecuted for it back home. Sexual offenses against minors by Swiss people abroad have been punishable in Switzerland since 1992.

Sex abuse carries a maximum sentence of seven years in Switzerland.