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Former Aussie diplomat jailed for 13 years for paedophilia
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-05-11 17:25

An Indonesian court has jailed a former Australian diplomat for 13 years for having sex with underage boys in the resort island of Bali.

Spectators applauded as judges passed sentence on William Stuart Brown, 52.

"Bastards!" Brown shouted at the public gallery, raising his fists and apparently quivering with rage.

Chief judge I Wayan Sutama, presiding over the court in this eastern Balinese town, said Brown had "created an image that Bali is heaven for pedophiles" and traumatised his victims.

"The defendant is a former diplomat, highly educated, a teacher who should be a role model," he added after convicting him of repeated acts of child abuse.

The sentence was one year more than prosecutors demanded and two years less than the legal maximum under a new child protection law.

Alit Kertaraharja, an investigator with a local anti-paedophile group called Committee Against Sexual Abuse, welcomed the sentence. He said his group is currently investigating 8-10 other suspected paedophiles.

Alit said he has spoken with the father of one victim and "he is satisfied with this sentence."

Brown, who was teaching English at the time, had been charged with luring, "through the use of violence, trickery or a series of lies, two children (aged 16 and 14) to engage in, or allowed them to engage in, sexual acts."

Prosecutors had said that on January 1, Brown took the 16-year-old swimming and then forced him to have sex. He gave the boy 5,000 rupiah (60 cents) and warned him not to tell anyone.

They said Brown repeated the act with both children on January 4. He gave them each 20,000 rupiah and the same warning. But the parents of the 16-year-old reported it to police.

Brown was a second secretary with the foreign aid section in the Australian embassy in Jakarta from 1982-1984. He was recalled before his posting was due to finish.

Asked whether he would appeal, defence lawyers I Nengah Maharsa said his client was "still shocked" and unprepared to take a decision.

Campaigners have complained in the past that Indonesian police treated paedophilia offences lightly. But Bali police have said they are giving increasing importance to combating it.

Three Australian federal police officers have been posted to Bali to work with their local counterparts to track down foreign offenders.

 
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