Alexander Trofimovbeing led away by the police.By Sopheng Cheang
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (CP)— A former Russian businessman convicted of sexually abusing more than a dozen Cambodian girls had his prison term reduced on Thursday from 17 years to eight.
An Appeals Court cut the sentence of Alexander Trofimov on the grounds that he had apologized to the victims and their families and had been unaware that he had committed an offence under Cambodian law.
Trofimov, 43, had been chairman of a Russian-led investment group given the right to develop a Cambodian tourist island. He was arrested in October 2007 and convicted in three separate cases of offences against various girls.
Nuon Phanith, a lawyer for the victims, told reporters he was surprised by the ruling, and he expected that the public would also find it hard to accept because it was such a high-profile case.
"To reduce it to eight years in jail is unacceptable," Nuon Phanith said.
Cambodia has long been a magnet for foreign pedophiles, though the courts have stepped up action against sex offenders in recent years.
Trofimov was arrested in October 2007 on allegations he had abused as many as 19 girls since 2005, mostly at his home in the coastal town of Sihanoukville.
Trofimov at the time was a chairman of Koh Puos Investment Group Ltd., which in September 2006 received permission from the Cambodian government to develop an island off the town into a tourist resort with an initial investment of up to $300 million. He was dismissed from his job after being charged.
In March 2008, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced him to 13 years in prison for a sexual offence against a 14-year-old girl in the capital, but the term was reduced to six years on appeal.
In November that year, the Sihanoukville Court sentenced him to eight years in prison for purchasing a child for prostitution, and added a further three years in January 2009 in a separate case involving 17 underage girls.
The cases were combined in the appeals court at the Russian's request.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (CP)— A former Russian businessman convicted of sexually abusing more than a dozen Cambodian girls had his prison term reduced on Thursday from 17 years to eight.
An Appeals Court cut the sentence of Alexander Trofimov on the grounds that he had apologized to the victims and their families and had been unaware that he had committed an offence under Cambodian law.
Trofimov, 43, had been chairman of a Russian-led investment group given the right to develop a Cambodian tourist island. He was arrested in October 2007 and convicted in three separate cases of offences against various girls.
Nuon Phanith, a lawyer for the victims, told reporters he was surprised by the ruling, and he expected that the public would also find it hard to accept because it was such a high-profile case.
"To reduce it to eight years in jail is unacceptable," Nuon Phanith said.
Cambodia has long been a magnet for foreign pedophiles, though the courts have stepped up action against sex offenders in recent years.
Trofimov was arrested in October 2007 on allegations he had abused as many as 19 girls since 2005, mostly at his home in the coastal town of Sihanoukville.
Trofimov at the time was a chairman of Koh Puos Investment Group Ltd., which in September 2006 received permission from the Cambodian government to develop an island off the town into a tourist resort with an initial investment of up to $300 million. He was dismissed from his job after being charged.
In March 2008, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court sentenced him to 13 years in prison for a sexual offence against a 14-year-old girl in the capital, but the term was reduced to six years on appeal.
In November that year, the Sihanoukville Court sentenced him to eight years in prison for purchasing a child for prostitution, and added a further three years in January 2009 in a separate case involving 17 underage girls.
The cases were combined in the appeals court at the Russian's request.
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