US man found guilty of abusing Cambodian boy, sentenced to 4 years in jail

Before going to Cambodia, D'Agostino was a paediatric doctor in New York state: Photo courtesy of BBC.

The Washington Post
By Associated Press,

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A Cambodian court has sentenced an American man to four years in prison on charges of sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy.

Judge Suos Sam Ath of Phnom Penh Municipal Court said James D’Agostino was found guilty Friday of paying for sexual services from a minor. He paid tuition for the boy, who stayed at his home.

D’Agostino, 56, denied the accusation. He was a volunteer doctor at a children’s hospital in the Cambodian capital and previously worked as a pediatric emergency doctor in Syracuse, N.Y. He was arrested in February after the boy told authorities about his reported actions.

Cambodia has long been a magnet for foreign pedophiles because of poverty and poor law enforcement. In recent years police and courts have increasingly targeted sex offenders.