US man in Thailand childsex case jailed for 10 years

LOS ANGELES: A US man was jailed for 10 years by a federal court in Los Angeles after pleading guilty to child sex offences in Thailand, justice officials said.

Steven Prowler, 58, a former Bangkok-based English teacher, admitted at a court appearance earlier this year a string of pedophilia offences involving two teenage boys, a statement from the Justice Department said.

He was prosecuted on charges of traveling abroad with the intent to have sex with a minor and engaging with sexual conduct with minors in another country.

Prowler was arrested in May 2005 after police in Bangkok acting on a tip saw two youths leaving his apartment.

The boys aged 15 and 16 admitted Prowler had paid them for sex.

A subsequent raid found more than 100 photos of naked teenage boys, and a series of journals where Prowler described sex abuse he had engaged in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Mexico.

Prowler was prosecuted under US laws which allow authorities to jail those involved in crimes against children which take place overseas.