PHNOM PENH, June 14, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Brian Naswall (L, front) is escorted to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to hear his verdict in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 14, 2016. A Cambodian court on Tuesday sentenced 53-year-old American man Brian Naswall convicted of purchasing child prostitution to 10 years in prison. (Xinhua/Sovannara)
PHNOM PENH, June 14 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodian court on Tuesday sentenced a 53-year-old American man convicted of purchasing child prostitution to 10 years in prison.
Brian Naswall, former chief executive officer of Phnom Penh-based aviation firm Aero Cambodia, was "found guilty of purchasing child prostitution," said a verdict pronounced by Phnom Penh Municipal Court Judge Khy Chhay.
The verdict also ordered Naswall to pay about 2,000 U.S. dollars in compensation to each of eight victims.
Naswall was arrested on May 22 last year on Koh Pich island in Phnom Penh for allegedly having a 13-year-old girl touch his genitals in front of her two friends. Another six underage girls have also joined the case to testify against him.
Cambodia launched an anti-pedophilia operation in 2003 in a bid to end its reputation as a haven for child sex offenders. Since then, dozens of foreigners have been imprisoned for child sex crimes.
