On May 26, 2011 a 58-year-old Dutchman was sentenced in southeast India to ten years imprisonment for kidnapping, child abuse and child pornography. Wilhelmus W. was arrested in November 2009 after investigation of Interpol and a hint of a British campaign group against child pornography. W. led an orphanage on the outskirts of Chennai. He abducted children, abused them and made pornographic videos of his victims. W. was since 1980 in India. In 2002 W. was previously arrested for sex with children, but was then released on bail.

The from Israel originating Dutch citizen Amir I. (37) was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison and 1.5 years suspended sentence for running the pedoforum Boylover.net, possession of child pornography and sexual abuse of a fourteen year old boy in Brazil. Through his internet forum I. came in contact with a Brazilian who facilitated sex with underage boys. Forum participants from different countries were in contact with the Brazilian to have sex with minors.

On February 21, 2011, a Dutch man Cees C. (65) was sentenced in Cambodia to eighteen months in prison for sexually abusing two underage boys. However, the man could walk out the court room as a free man because he spent almost ten months in custody and the last eight months were converted to a suspended sentence. The punishment is disproportionate to the harm that was done to the children. Cees C. had a shelter and an education program for poor children up in Sihanoukville. Two boys at the shelter (eleven and twelve years) reported to the police after the Dutchman had touched their genitals.

A 62-year-old Dutchman was sentenced to 37 years jail by a court in Bangkok for sexual abuse of a boy of twelve years old. Between March and December 2007 he took the boy from his home several times to the seaside town of Hua Hin and abused him in exchange for money.

In April 2004, the Dutchman Rene A. (48), was arrested in a Phnom Penh hotel where he was found with two naked thirteen year old boys. He had sexually abused seven boys younger than fifteen years old and took pornographic photos of them. He paid them ten euro to have sex with him. He was charged with debauchery and taking pornographic photographs. In August 2004, he was found not guilty by a Cambodian court. The prosecutor filed an appeal and detained A. On appeal, A. was sentenced to ten years in prison and payment of 256 euro to each of his victims. 

J. van der S. was 43 years old and worked as a computer programmer in the Netherlands. He went several times to the Philippines. There he invited underage girls into his hotel room and sexually abused them. He took pornographic pictures and videos and took them home. Thanks to the testimony of one of the victims on October 8, 1996 J. Van der S. was sentenced to five years in prison for rape and other forms of sexual contact with Filipino girls younger than sixteen years.

Defence for Children-ECPAT the Netherlands started a civil procedure on behalf of the victim, with the support of Dutch and Philippine lawyers. The procedure lasted long because of the complexity of the different legal systems. In September 2004, due to this civil procedure, Van der S. had to pay a little more than 3000 euro to the victim.

In the period of April 1995 up to January 1997, a 64-old Dutchman visited Fajara, Gambia several times. There, he regularly invited girls with ages varying from twelve to sixteen years old to his hotel room where he had sex with them. Due to media attention for the case, the Dutch authorities put effort in this case. From 1997, it took seven years to sentence him to jail for only 1.5 to 2.5 years.

The Dutch NGO Terre des Hommes and ECPAT Gambia played an important role in getting attention for this case. Thanks to them the case was reported on by Dutch television. During the years Dutch national television showed documentaries about this case several times. The attention in the media even led to questions in the Dutch parliament, which then resulted in pressure on the Ministry of Justice and the police to be more active. The investigation of the Dutch police focused on the statement of one the victims and gathering evidence from Gambian police and other authorities. However, the Gambian police did not cooperate in any way during the investigation.

In 2004 a Dutch court convicted the suspect to a prison sentence of thirty months of which ten conditionally with a probation period of two years. The sentence was because of the long period of systematic abuse of girls younger than 21 years old. With the sentence, the court took into account that the offender was not condemned earlier of an indictable offence and that detention would be heavy for him due to his age and physical condition. The court took also into account that the prove-explained fact dated from the period of 3 April 1995 up to 1 January 1997.

On November 13, 1997 a Dutch court sentenced a swimming teacher and travel agent to five years imprisonment, among others, for sexually exploiting several boys under sixteen years in Sri Lanka. The court decided that the swimming teacher/ travel agent had to pay 1,500 guilders to each of the boys that was requested on their behalf for the suffering that was inflicted to them.

In the Netherlands the man had two boys younger than sixteen years under his guardianship and had sexually abused them for a long time. The man had a large collection of pornographic photos, slides and videos, with (Southeast Asia) minors between twelve and sixteen years. Developing some of these photos at the local drugstore led to the arrest in this case.

In July 1997 a Dutch court sentenced the 46-year old L. to three years imprisonment, with six months suspended sentence, for having sexual contacts with an underage Thai boy in Thailand. He was also convicted of making child pornography videotapes. Together with his 31-year-old girlfriend L. produced child pornographic video with boys of eight and ten years old. The man worked in a sex shop in Amsterdam's Red Light District and sold the self-produced tapes privately to 'collectors'.

On January 12, 1996 the 23-year-old student Lennaert van E. was arrested - along with German Thomas B. - at the Philippine island Boracay for sexual abuse of a nine year old girl and a fourteen year old girl. Of this abuse video recordings were made. E. was released on bail for 60,000 pesos (this was then about 4,500 guilders) and could escape from the Philippines because he received a temporary passport from the Dutch embassy. In 1997, van E. was sentenced by a Dutch court to 24 months imprisonment, of which eight months probation. The court required that E. had to follow intensive individual psychiatric treatment.

This report is a gathering of cases of different types of child sex tourists, some convicted in land of origin, some in land of destination and some managed to escape. The cases illustrate how time consuming it is to convict a child sex tourist, due to the international character of the crime. From the cases it also becomes clear that the conviction depends on collaboration. When authorities are reluctant to open a case against a child sex tourist, media attention gives a great boost to get procedures started. NGO's are usually the ones initiating media attention. Click here for the report.