Sexual predators prey upon and abuse poor children of Cambodia

Cambodia, poor area

Cambodia is a poor country where young girls fall prey to predators[/caption]

“Predators cannot hide in foreign nations to conceal their deviant sexual desires,” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. “Our efforts to coordinate with law enforcement around the world have resulted in the identification and prosecution of Americans who are exploiting the children in other countries. This lengthy sentence should serve as a stern warning to other pedophiles.”

Michael Joseph Pepe, 60, of Oxnard, California was convicted in 2008 by a jury of seven felony counts involved in traveling to Cambodia where he engaged in illicit sexual conduct with minors. He was sentenced by US District Judge Dale S. Fischer who offered this statement after the verdict was read, specifically about seven girls between the ages of 9 and 13 at the time of the abuse, who were drugged, bound, beat and raped by Pepe, “Monstrous does not begin to capture the horror of the crime or the impact on the victims."

The victims also said Pepe required the girls to give him sexual massages, then perform oral sex on him daily.

Experts report the prevalence rate of sexual abuse in Asia is 23.9%http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_sexual_abuse It is also an area where commercial sexual exploitation is at its highest.

Sexual predators were out in force when a computer-generated Asian girl was created as a lure to capture criminals who prey on children. In Holland a sting operation was set up that caught hundreds of sexual predators who responded to the girl's picture put up on the Internet. 250 of the men who responded were American men, 110 from the United Kingdom and 103 from India. A total of about 20,000 men contacted the “young girl,” some of them offering money for sex.

Human traffickers operate widely throughout much of Asia, luring young women and girls into the sex trade, either with drugs or promises of good jobs in other countries. Sexual predators are also prevalent in Asia, where men travel in order to find willing sex partners. 

A Muslim Women's Network has written about the problem of the sexual exploitation of girls in Asia, pointing out the widespread nature of these crimes. A research study found that most perpetrators are from the same ethnic community as the victim. Most of the victims were under age 16 and many came from poor or dysfunctional families. Most of them also did not receive after care following their abuse, and many were re-abused by their families because the victims had reported the abuse. Police were criticized for not intervening enough because of cultural issues.

The Mirror exposed the problem of aging British men who travel to Asia and seduce children into having sex. Many of these men will groom innocent children by making promises of money or gifts. Cambodia is a poor country, and these men prowl the streets of the poorest neighborhoods looking for victims. Furthermore, it was reported how easy it is to find a child, as many are offered by adults on the streets, in whispered tones, to passersby, asking for money in exchange for providing a child for sex. A television documentary was done about the problem of pedophiles finding children in Cambodia for sex, as it pointed out how easy it has been for those convicted of crimes involving children to travel to Asia and find victims there. 

Victims of sexual abuse suffer trauma not just at the time the crime is committed but for years afterward. They can have physical trauma, as many are young and the sex can be rough for children. Psychologically they feel like lesser beings, worthless and unable to live ordinary lives. Families abandon them. Girls often can't be married and turn to prostitution when they can't receive family support. It is a victimization that is lifelong for many of these traumatized young people, according to those who have worked with them.

It is this crime the Department of Justice has highlighted in its recent arrest and documentation of sexual exploitation of children, the kind of crime for which there are too many poor victims.