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.