PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN - A man who had received an outstanding teacher award has been arrested for molesting at least eight students aged 8-10 years old at his school.
Police also found almost 20,000 files of obscene media of both boys and girls, as well as child pornography made by the teacher.
Police began investigating the case after receiving information from Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children (Ticac), said Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiewphan, chief of the Cybercrime Investigation Bureau (CCIB).
The group had received a notification from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the United States that they had found images of a boy who had been sexually abused, which had been uploaded to the cloud of a well-known platform via an IP address from Thailand.
Police investigators worked with Ticac and found the suspect was a teacher at a school in the southern province. Armed with a search warrant, police joined with staff from Ticac, Destiny Rescue International, Our Rescue Foundation and officials from the Prachuap Khiri Khan Children’s Shelter and raided a house on March 5.
Police arrested Kritsana (no surname given), 32, an English teacher, and confiscated his mobile phone and a 2TB external hard disk. The data in the phone contained almost 20,000 obscene media files of children of both sexes, as well as child pornography created by Mr Kritsana.
Initially, the officers were able to identify eight child victims. They also found information that Mr Kritsana had previously received an award honouring teachers with tangible results at the district level.
“This is a major issue because the perpetrator has a position and status that requires him to ensure the safety of children, but he has sexually abused minors,” said Pol Lt Gen Trairong.
Initially, the police charged him with possession of child pornography for sexual benefit for himself or others.
Now they are questioning others related to the case with a view to pressing additional charges such as rape, indecency and behaviour that seeks to benefit from children, especially in cases where the perpetrator has power over the child.
Police are also looking for other potential perpetrators and victims.
The suspect reportedly admitted the charges and said he had been committing the crimes for more than seven years since he was hired as an English teacher.
He said he used to abuse children in both the classroom and the school library, where he would take photos and record videos of his crimes.
He also told children to meet him privately after class, ordering them not to tell anyone and giving them sums of money ranging from 40-100 baht. He also claimed the pictures he took were never released anywhere.
Sudatip Duangtip, of Destiny Rescue International, said the eight victims were elementary students aged 8-10 years. She said that when they were interviewed, most of the children were trembling and terrified to speak.
“They are afraid because the teacher had been abusing them for many years. All the children said the same thing, that the incidents happened at school,” she said.
Ms Sudatip said that if parents observe their children showing unusual reactions or being uncharacteristically quiet, they should talk to them to ensure nothing untoward is happening.
