British paedophile in Cambodia has his sentence REDUCED after he argued he was actually a good Samaritan who insisted he only touched young girls 'in a fatherly way'
- Michael Glyn Jones was jailed in Cambodia for sexually abusing girls
- 55-year-old from Wales was given an eight year prison term in the country
- But a judge has reduced his sentence after a Court of Appeal hearing
- Came after Jones insisted he only touched the girls in a 'fatherly way'
A
British paedophile who was jailed in Cambodia for sexually abusing
children has had his prison sentence reduced after arguing he only
touched the girls in a 'fatherly way'.
Michael
Glyn Jones, 55, from Wales was originally jailed for eight years in
April after being found guilty of sexually assaulting four girls aged
between six and 11 last year.
He
had been photographed by police and a child protection group walking
hand-in-hand with one young girl and sitting with a number of others,
one of whom was on his lap.
British paedophile Michael Glyn Jones,
who was jailed in Cambodia for sexually abusing children. He has had
his eight year prison sentence reduced to five years
He was arrested in June after the children's mothers lodged complaints about the alleged abuse.
Jones
claimed during his original court hearing that he had simply felt sorry
for his victims and wanted to buy them ice cream and take the to the
cinema.
But
his case was brought back before the Court of Appeal in the Cambodian
capital Phnom Penh last week, where his sentence was reduced from eight
to five years.
Jones said that although he had touched his victims, it had been in an innocent way and he had no bad intentions.
According to the Phnom Penh Post,
Judge Tith Sothy Boraleak listened to the concluding remarks of the
prosecution and defence before reducing the sentence after determining
that Jones had not had sex with the victims.
Jones had been photographed by police
and a child protection group with young children and told the court he
had bought them ice cream and took them to the cinema
He was also pictured with one young
girl sitting in his lap. Jones said that although he had touched them it
had been in an innocent way and he had no bad intentions
However,
he ordered that a fine of 16million Cambodian Reil (£2,500) to the
victim's families be upheld and that Jones remains in detention until he
has served his jail term.
Jones
arrived in Cambodia in early 2014 as a tourist and had made contact
with his victims by offering them small amounts of money and food.
Charity
Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) took pictures of Jones with the young
girls while investigating him after suspicions were raised on a visit to
the country in 2013.
APLE found that Jones was in contact with an under-age girl whom he took into a rented room in the Lake Side area.
They
discovered that although he was staying in a hotel in Phnom Pen, he
kept returning to the rented room with the same 11-year-old, an APLE
spokesman said.
Jones enters a flat in the Cambodian
capital. Despite having his prison term reduced, he still must pay a
fine of 16million Cambodian Reil (£2,500) to the victim's families
The
charity say Jones took her shopping, bought her food and went to the
cinema with her. He is alleged to have been seen ‘hugging and kissing’
the girl and was seen to ‘groom’ three others.
The girls’ mothers filed complaints in June last year, and he was subsequently arrested after a tip-off from APLE.
Laws exist to ban convicted paedophiles from travelling abroad, however UK police have no records of Jones offending in Britain.
Speaking
at the time, a South Wales Police spokesman said: 'South Wales Police
Specialist Crime has not been made aware by the authorities in Cambodia
of this arrest and are not involved in this investigation.'
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