elef Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 Bangkok Post Today Link US sex tour operator convicted A Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty in US District Court in Cleveland, Ohio, to charges he operated a business that arranged for tourists to visit brothels with underage girls in Thailand, the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper reported today. He probably will be sentenced to between four and five years in prison. Russell Herman, 52, pleaded guilty before US District Judge Solomon Oliver to one count of facilitating travel for the purpose of an illicit sex act. Herman is from Las Vegas but lived in Thailand for several years. Federal agents said he arranged for tourists to have sex with girls as young as 12. Many of the girls were kept padlocked in cells unless they were having sex, according to court documents. The newspaper report said that an undercover agent of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement came across Herman's web site in December of 2005 while investigating the sale of fake Gucci, Prada and Rolex merchandise. Besides selling the fake goods, the web site advertised arranging marriages with Thai women between the ages of 18 and 24. Herman's e-mail address was listed for further information. According to the newspaper, the ICE agent contacted Herman and asked about the availability of girls between the ages of 10 and 14, according to court documents. Herman replied, "Thailand is a lot of fun and you'll experience some incredible things here!!!" Another ICE agent called Herman in November, 2006 and said he was interested in traveling to Thailand, where Herman was living. Herman said that for $1,000, he would take the agent to a hotel where 15-year-old girls would be brought to the undercover agent's room. A few days later, Herman met the undercover agent and took him to several places where they were solicited for sex. Some of the girls appeared to be as young as 12, the ICE agent said in court documents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 Some of the girls appeared to be as young as 12 Nothing like a rock solid case... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 Hi, Agree. The wife of one of my friends looks like she is about 12, but is in fact in her mid 20s. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 So if I claim that a girl is 14 knowing well she is 19 (highly possible in LOS) and I convince a punter she is 14 and get paid $1000.....am a breaking the law? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 no, but in theory, the punter could be, as his "intent" was to travel overseas to have sex with a minor...this is sort of how they always get these predators, they have an adult pose online as an underage kid, set up a meeting...even though there is no kid involved, the guy is still guilty...kinda fucked up when you think about it... kinda like drug stings and prostitution set ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 It's called entrapment! I knew a pharmacist who got burned in one. A young fella came in one evening trying to buy some medication he said he needed for his wife. The pharmacist said he'd have to have a prescription, but the guy beg and pleaded. He claimed he really needed it. The pharmacist finally broke down and let him have it. No sooner had the phamracist rung up the sale, than the SOB identified himself as a state agent and charged him with selling drugs without a perscription. The pharmacist got fined about $5,000 for being a softie. Bet him won't be for anyone else, no matter how badly they need it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted March 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 How many years was the american with 5 kg of candy sentenced to? Many trips to SO Asia + the candy was enough reason for raid his place and computer with some underage pics. Planned to be a pedo but AFAI remember not yet but enough for many years in prison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lembeh Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 >He probably will be sentenced to between four and five years in prison. I am not really making any comment here, just to say that its interesting to compare this sentence with the 200 years the other guy got for having 20 images on his computer... -j- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadfly Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 no, but in theory, the punter could be, as his "intent" was to travel overseas to have sex with a minor... In this scenario, the "punter" was a US agent posing as a punter. Has the guy here passing off a 20 year old as 14 year committed a crime? OK, let's say he doesn't testify and you there is no testimony about the girl's age other than US agent's testimony about her appearance. Can they convict someone based on a US agent's description of her "appearance"? Aren't they required to prove the girl was a minor "beyond a reasonable doubt". Does her appearance, as described by a US agent, meet this standard? Not condoning pedo behaviour, but this sort of stuff raises some troubling issues IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust Posted March 11, 2007 Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 Is intent enough these days to convict someone? Seems a grey area to me. I may intend to do something but the transition from a concept to reality is a huge leep. Say you have this perverted desire to have sex with a minor. You take all the steps arranging it and when the time arrives you have a sudden realisation that what you are doing is legally and morally wrong and back out at the last minute......have you really committed any crime apart from a lapse in judgement. Don't condone this behaviour at all but sometimes I think some people take absence from their wisdom from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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