INTERPOL ARREST Christopher Paul Neil

[praetor]

INTERPOL seeks public’s help to identify man photographed sexually abusing children
LYON, France – INTERPOL is making a public worldwide request for assistance in identifying a man photographed sexually abusing children in a series of images posted on the Internet, the first time the organization has made such an appeal.

Although the original photographs had been digitally altered by him or his accomplices to disguise his face, specialists from the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) in Germany working with INTERPOL’s Trafficking in Human Beings unit have been able to produce an identifiable picture.

Despite extensive global efforts to identify and locate this individual through INTERPOL’s network of 186 National Central Bureaus and specialist units, the man’s identity and nationality still remain unknown.

'For years images of this man sexually abusing children have been circulating on the Internet. We have tried all other means to identify and to bring him to justice, but we are now convinced that without the public’s help this sexual predator could continue to rape and sexually abuse young children whose ages appear to range from six to early teens,' said INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.

'We have very good reason to believe that he travels the world in order to sexually abuse and exploit vulnerable children and as an 186-member country police organization, INTERPOL is uniquely positioned to co-ordinate this global effort to identify and bring him to justice,' added Mr Noble.

The search for the individual has been codenamed Vico after analysis of the photographs, around 200 in total featuring 12 different young boys, established that the pictures were taken in Vietnam and Cambodia.

'The decision to make public this man’s picture was not one which was taken lightly, but after thoughtful consideration and with the full agreement of experts from INTERPOL’s member countries dedicated to fighting this appalling criminal activity,' said Kristin Kvigne, Assistant Director of INTERPOL’s Trafficking in Human Beings Unit.

'We are certainly not encouraging members of the public to take any direct action themselves, particularly since any positive identification would need to be confirmed by law enforcement authorities but if anyone recognizes this person, or has any information that could help investigators, please contact the police or INTERPOL National Central Bureau in your country.'

The photographs of the man can be seen on the INTERPOL website, www.interpol.int. Any questions, information or comments can be sent to INTERPOL’s Trafficking in Human Beings Unit via the following link http://www.interpol.int/public/thb/vico/default.asp

http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2007/PR200745.asp

http://www.interpol.int/Public/THB/vico/Default.asp

[praetor]

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 8, 2007
Filed at 5:36 p.m. ET

PARIS (AP) -- He apparently traveled the world sexually abusing young boys, but remained unidentifiable -- until now.


Police in Europe have unscrambled digitally altered images found on the Internet to reveal the face of a man shown abusing boys in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Interpol released four reconstructed photos of the suspected pedophile on Monday in an unprecedented public appeal for help, hoping that someone, somewhere, will recognize the man whose identity and nationality remain a mystery.

The response has been encouraging: about 200 messages in just over 12 hours, Interpol said.

But the decision to unmask him is not without risk: Tipping criminals off to the techniques that police have at their disposal could also prompt them to better hide their identities.

Interpol said 12 boys, apparently ranging in age from 6 to early teens, appeared in about 200 photographs posted on the Internet. But the face of the man inflicting the abuse was disguised in a digital whirl.

Using techniques that neither they nor Interpol would discuss, German police produced identifiable images of the man from the original pictures. The reconstructed photos showed a white man who looked to be in his 30s, with uncombed short brown hair. One showed him wearing glasses, in another he smiled, and another showed that he has a hairy chest. Interpol posted the images on its Web site.

Anders Persson, a Swedish police officer assigned to Interpol's human trafficking unit who oversees its database of images of child abuse, said releasing the photos sent ''a quite clear message'' to criminals that they can be identified through Web postings.

''We have a lot of responses and they are coming from all over the world,'' Persson said in a telephone interview.

Some of the responses included detailed information such as names and addresses, he said. Others are sightings of people met on vacation.

Interpol forwards detailed information to the countries concerned so police can check, Persson said. Local police are also getting responses to the appeal, he added.

Persson said he personally had opposed making the photos public because it demonstrated to criminals that police can unscramble pictures. But that consideration and the risk that the man could face public humiliation or even violence now that he is recognizable were outweighed by the desire to protect other children from abuse.

''It was a long discussion,'' Persson said. ''We can't just sit here and do nothing. We have exhausted all possibilities within police work to find this man. ... This was the last step.''

Interpol said the reconstructed images were produced by Germany's Bundeskriminalamt, or BKA, police force. Contacted separately by The Associated Press, a BKA spokesman said the agency did not want to give details of the process used by its image processing expert ''because we do not want to give criminals the opportunity to adjust to the techniques we are using.''

The techniques do not appear very complicated: the AP produced an almost recognizable image of the man from the blurred photo that Interpol also distributed, in just a few minutes using commercially available computer software for editing photographs. The AP image was not as clear as Interpol's but still showed the outlines of a face rather than a mere blur.

''Techniques are always developing. What is impossible today is possible tomorrow,'' Persson said. ''There were several attempts to clear the face. ... We are sure that you can't get better pictures, and the people in his neighborhood -- family friends, colleagues, whatever -- they will recognize him.''

Persson said one of the 200 pictures showed the name of a hotel in Vietnam, but police checks of the guest register turned up no clues. Cambodian police recognized locations in other photos.

The photos must date from before December 2004, when they were found on the Internet, and some were digitally stamped as having been taken in 2002 and 2003, Persson said.

The 12 boys have not been located, he added.

Interpol had already circulated photos of the man to police around the world but failed to identify him. Persson said he believes Interpol obtained the first photos in the spring of 2005, then more came in.

''For years, images of this man sexually abusing children have been circulating on the Internet. We have tried all other means to identify and to bring him to justice, but we are now convinced that without the public's help, this sexual predator could continue to rape and sexually abuse young children,'' Interpol's secretary general, Ronald K. Noble, said in a statement.

''We have very good reason to believe that he travels the world in order to sexually abuse and exploit vulnerable children,'' Noble said.

Distinguishing marks on his body will help police be sure that they have their man if he is eventually caught, Persson said. He did not say what these marks were but said they would be ''the final proof if he is the right guy or not.''

Interpol asked people who recognize the man or who have other information to contact police or the Interpol bureau in their country. It urged them not to take any direct action themselves.

------

Associated Press photo editor Bertrand Combaldieu in Paris and writer Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Germany, contributed to this report.

------

On the Net:

http://www.interpol.int

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Interpol-Pedophile-Manhunt.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[TheOne1]

I think we need dateline's "to catch a predator" worldwide....immediately...24/7 operation

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mHJzUOYp2Ac

[NJITALIAN]

May sound extreme. But I beleive you catch a Pedo. You have two options. Death or Life Imprisonment. I prefer we kill the bastards.

[Willie Escalade]

May sound extreme. But I beleive you catch a Pedo. You have two options. Death or Life Imprisonment. I prefer we kill the bastards.
I second that. Death. :evil: Suck fuck.

[Night Rider]

Nah let the fuckers rot in jail for life without parole..they should tattoo peado on their head and throw them in jail and see how they get on

[TheOne1]

Nah let the fuckers rot in jail for life without parole..they should tattoo peado on their head and throw them in jail and see how they get on

in jail most of them are in pc together, so its almost like a reward, cause they are with their own fucked up kind..and fuck each other.. there is entire prisons dedicated to these tree-jumpers

[praetor]

Suspect in child sex abuse image series identified by INTERPOL, believed to be in Thailand

LYON, France – The man photographed sexually abusing young children in Vietnam and Cambodia (Vico) in images posted on the Internet has been identified following a massive global response to INTERPOL’s appeal and is now believed to be in Thailand.

As a result of information provided to INTERPOL by five different sources from three continents, the suspected child abuser labelled 'Vico,' was identified as a man teaching English at a school in South Korea.

Within three days of the appeal, working with its National Central Bureaus around the world INTERPOL had also established the suspect's name, nationality, date of birth, passport number, and current and previous places of work.

Intense investigative support from authorities in South Korea and the Kingdom of Thailand revealed that the man flew from Seoul to Bangkok International Airport on Thursday, 11 October, with security cameras documenting his arrival at immigration at 15h26. This image is today being made publicly available by INTERPOL as part of police efforts to locate him.

'Thailand is at the centre of an international manhunt, and authorities in the country, in co-operation with INTERPOL and police around the world, are hunting him down,' said Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.

'The response and contribution we have had from the public has been remarkable, as has the support from the media, which has enabled officers in our specialised unit, our office in Bangkok and police in other member countries to make such remarkable progress in such a short space of time.

'We must once again enlist the public’s support, this time to pinpoint Vico’s current location.'

Police services and prosecutors in the involved countries are continuing to collect and analyse evidence in order to bring charges against ‘Vico’ as soon as possible.

More than 350 people worldwide contacted INTERPOL in response to its appeal for assistance for Operation Vico when it became clear that without the public’s help, the man pictured sexually abusing 12 different young boys in Vietnam and Cambodia in a series of around 200 images could otherwise not be identified.

'This case clearly underlines the central role which could only be achieved by INTERPOL with its network of 186 member countries, and also highlights the giant step forward in global communications among INTERPOL members,' added Secretary General Noble.

Anyone with information on the man’s current whereabouts is asked to contact their local police or INTERPOL via its website, www.interpol.int
http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2007/PR200747.asp

[praetor]

INTERPOL has confirmed Thai and Cambodian identification of Christopher Paul Neil as Vico
LYON, France – INTERPOL has confirmed the Thai and Cambodian identification of Christopher Paul Neil, a 32-year-old English teacher from Canada, as the man photographed sexually abusing young children in Southeast Asia in images posted on the Internet.

Neil was last seen at Bangkok’s international airport on 11 October arriving on a flight from South Korea, where he had been working. Security cameras documented his arrival at immigration at 15h26.

A specialised officer from the INTERPOL General Secretariat, working from the INTERPOL Liaison Office in Bangkok, is assisting police in Thailand and neighbouring countries with the collection and analysis of evidence for the issue of an arrest warrant.

‘Thailand is at the centre of an international manhunt, and authorities in the country, in co-operation with INTERPOL and police around the world, are hunting him down,’ said Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.

‘The response and contribution we have had from the public has been remarkable, as has the support from the media, which has enabled officers in our specialised unit, our office in Bangkok and police in other member countries to make such remarkable progress in such a short space of time.

‘We must once again enlist the public’s support, this time to pinpoint his current location.’

More than 350 people contacted INTERPOL in response to its worldwide appeal for assistance with the operation, codenamed ‘Vico’, when it became clear that without the public’s help, the man pictured sexually abusing 12 different young boys in Vietnam and Cambodia in a series of around 200 images could otherwise not be identified.

Within three days of the appeal, working with its National Central Bureaus around the world, INTERPOL was able to obtain Neil’s name, nationality, date of birth, passport number, and current and previous places of work.

‘This case clearly underlines the central role which could only be achieved by INTERPOL with its network of 186 member countries, and also highlights the giant step forward in global communications among INTERPOL members,’ added Secretary General Noble.

Anyone with information on Neil’s current whereabouts is asked to contact their local police or INTERPOL’s Trafficking in Human Beings Unit via email. http://www.interpol.com/public/mail/mail3.asp?id=vico

[praetor]

Thai Police arrest Christopher NEIL, identified as man in child sexual abuse photos

Christopher Paul NEIL, a 32-year-old Canadian man identified as being the person in a series of child sex abuse photos posted on the Internet, was arrested by Royal Thai Police on 19 October.

NEIL's arrest in northeast Thailand came just 10 days after INTERPOL launched an unprecedented global public appeal on 8 October to identify the man whose face appeared in more than 200 images of child sex abuse.

INTERPOL received more than 300 statements from the public in response to the appeal, with five people naming NEIL as a potential match. Police immediately followed up on the leads, and on 18 October, Thai police issued an arrest warrant for NEIL and INTERPOL published a Red Notice (international wanted persons notice).

NEIL had been working as an English-language teacher in South Korea, but flew to Bangkok, Thailand on 11 October. His arrest came as a result of extensive police work in several countries to firstly identify the man and then to find him.

Police codenamed the operation ‘Vico’ because the images were believed to have been taken in Vietnam and Cambodia in 2002 or 2003. The Thai arrest warrant was based on a statement this week from a Thai teenage boy who accused Neil of sexually molesting him.

http://www.interpol.int/Public/THB/vico/Default.asp

[Mugai_hentaisha]

Glad they caught the fucker

i hope Justice will be served in his case

but in hearing "he was travelling the world molesting kids" WTF was he a card carrying memeber of the Super Adventure Club?

[Night Rider]

they'll have to come down on him hard bc it been so public..hopefully he gets the max punishment

[CORVETTEDUDE]

We've become way too civilized, there used to be some really good "Public" punishment prescribed for such individuals.

[Coroner]

His balls should be cut off or he gets SRS.

[BBaggins06]

"Let's have a fair trial and then convict him." - Robert Redford (Legal Eagles)

[alphanumeric]

as a canadian I would like to apologize for having this sick fucker come from our country...

[Willie Escalade]

He used technology to post those pictures like the sick fuck he is, and that same usage of technology got him busted. I hope he gets what he deserves.

[Wombat]

In the words of Montgomery Burns, "Excellent".

@Corvettedude, don't worry man, time in a Thai jail isn't easy time. If you don't have help from the outside you are going to go hungry. And they don't have special segregation for pedophiles.

This scum is going to do time real hard, if he gets out alive I will put money on him being infected with HIV.

[laoda8]

Don't fuck with interpol, whoever they are.

[Night Rider]

In the words of Montgomery Burns, "Excellent".

@Corvettedude, don't worry man, time in a Thai jail isn't easy time. If you don't have help from the outside you are going to go hungry. And they don't have special segregation for pedophiles.

This scum is going to do time real hard, if he gets out alive I will put money on him being infected with HIV.

I read a book about an australian drug dealer that had to go to a thai prison and trust me it's no holiday camp. They're infested with rats and all sorts of diseases and the food is that scarce that they have to resort to eating cockroaches.

They get brutal beatings on almost a daily basis so he's in for a rough ride...and rightly so

[Wombat]

I read a book about an australian drug dealer that had to go to a thai prison and trust me it's no holiday camp. They're infested with rats and all sorts of diseases and the food is that scarce that they have to resort to eating cockroaches.

They get brutal beatings on almost a daily basis so he's in for a rough ride...and rightly so

Look at the way the Thai cops are looking at him in that photo, I bet his 'interview' wasn't too pleasant either.