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DE RUEHPF #0772/01 2560546
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FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000772 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR H, G/TIP, EAP/MLS, AND EAP/RSP 
USAID FOR ASIA BUREAU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL KWMN KTIP CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIA: OPEN TO "INTERNATIONAL MEGAN'S LAW," 
ACKNOWLEDGES NEW TIP CHALLENGES 
 
REF: A. PHNOM PENH 702 
     ¶B. PHNOM PENH 628 
     ¶C. PHNOM PENH 145 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  From September 2-5 a six-member U.S. 
House Committee on Foreign Affairs Staff Delegation met with 
Cambodian government officials, immigration and police 
contacts, and NGO representatives during a fact-finding visit 
to Cambodia.  The visit was prompted by the introduction of a 
new bill that would require the USG to notify travel 
destination countries when the most dangerous Amcit 
pedophiles plan to travel to those countries.  News of the 
bill, known as "International Megan's Law," was welcomed by 
Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng who stated that if the law is 
passed, "it would be beneficial for law enforcement." 
Immigration and police officials stated that the country's 
computerized Interpol or other computer systems might be 
possible systems with which a new notification system could 
integrate when and if it comes time to establish such a 
system.  During their meetings with the StaffDel, DPM Sar 
Kheng, Minister of Women's Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi, and 
Anti-TIP National Task Force Chair You Ay acknowledged recent 
TIP challenges at the Sihanoukville and Appeals Courts, 
including the July release of a Russian pedophile by the 
Sihanoukville Court, and the recent Appeals Court sentence to 
reduce the charges and sentence of a pedophile originally 
convicted in 2006.  End Summary. 
 
Cambodia Welcomes "International Megan's Law" Bill 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) A six-member Staff Delegation led by House Foreign 
Affairs Committee Deputy Chief Counsel Kristin Wells visited 
Cambodia September 2-5 to research how a bill, if passed into 
law, might be implemented in Cambodia.  The bill, H.R. 5722, 
was introduced by Congressperson Chris Smith of New Jersey, 
and is dubbed the "International Megan's Law" as it is 
conceptually related to a domestic "Megan's Law" requiring 
convicted sex offenders to register in their home states. 
Each state must then make public the convicted sex offender 
registry which includes home address information.  The 
International Megan's Law, if passed, would require convicted 
sex offenders to provide three weeks advance notice to the 
USG when they plan to travel to a foreign country.  The USG 
would then be required to provide the travel and identity 
information of those convicted sex offenders determined to be 
"high risk" to the destination country.  Both the domestic 
and international versions of Megan's Law adopt the concept 
of providing information about a sex offender's presence in 
the community for the purpose of protecting children by 
providing information to the appropriate law enforcement 
officials.  The original Megan's Law was adopted in the state 
of New Jersey after 7-year-old Megan Kanka was abducted, 
sexually assaulted, and murdered by a previously convicted 
sex offender who was living across the street unbeknownst to 
Megan and her family. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng, Minister of 
Women's Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi, and National Task Force 
(NTF) Chair You Ay welcomed news of a bill that might result 
in the USG providing the Cambodian government more 
information about convicted sex offenders who intend to 
travel to Cambodia.  Sar Kheng stated that if the bill is 
passed into law, notification of Amcit convicted sex 
offenders traveling to Cambodia would be beneficial for law 
enforcement officials in conducting anti-TIP work.  He stated 
that if the RGC received information on convicted sex 
offenders in advance, police would be better prepared to deal 
with cases. 
 
Sar Kheng:  Child Sex Offenders Would Be Monitored 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) For an individual who has not committed a crime in 
Cambodia, Sar Kheng stated that Cambodia would be obliged to 
permit the individual entry, but that a traveler who was 
previously convicted in the U.S. of a serious child sex abuse 
crime would likely be monitored by the police.  He also made 
the point that the individuals targeted by this draft 
legislation likely would not be happy to know that their 
personal information is being provided to the RGC but said it 
would be a possible partial solution to combating one aspect 
of trafficking in persons.  Both Sar Kheng and Ing Kantha 
Phavi stated that the notification information would likely 
have to go through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Ing 
Kantha Phavi said the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) and 
the NTF could play a watchdog role.  Sar Kheng stated that 
the Ministry of Interior (MOI) would be the direct users of 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000772  002 OF 003 
 
 
the information and the implementers if any action were to be 
taken against travelers identified through the International 
Megan's Law. 
 
Challenges Noted 
---------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The StaffDel acknowledged during several meetings 
with RGC and NGO representatives that the introduction of the 
International Megan's Law bill, and, depending on its 
passage, the ensuing development of a notification system 
poses challenges.  It was recognized that not all convicted 
sex offenders registered in the U.S. under the domestic 
Megan's Law pose a threat to the wellbeing of children, and 
may not travel overseas at all, or commit such offenses 
abroad.  DPM Sar Kheng agreed that it could be useful for the 
U.S. to conduct a risk assessment of registered sex offenders 
based on the types of crimes an offender committed to help 
determine whether a sex offender traveling to Cambodia is a 
possible threat to children.  (Note:  There is currently no 
U.S. risk assessment of registered sex offenders.  End Note.) 
 
Integrating a Notification System 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) To address another possible challenge, the StaffDel 
explored the Cambodian government's capacity to receive 
information about Amcit convicted sex offenders traveling to 
Cambodia.  During meetings with the Cambodian National 
Central Bureau of Interpol Head Major General Keo Vannthan 
and Immigration Department Director Major General Thong Lim, 
both under the MOI, the StaffDel heard that Interpol has the 
ability to notify immigration officials at each of Cambodia's 
20 points of entry about information regarding incoming 
travelers.  Thong Lim stated that four of Cambodia's points 
of entry, including international airports in Phnom Penh and 
Siem Reap, use a computerized name check system that 
currently does not contain information on TIP crimes.  For 
foreign criminals who have been previously convicted in 
Cambodia, the MOI maintains a hardcopy blacklist of perhaps 
several hundred names that is periodically updated and sent 
to points of entry.  Thong Lim and Keo Vannthan both stated 
that if their departments received information that an Amcit 
convicted sex offender is traveling to Cambodia, they would 
send the information to Cambodian National Police 
Commissioner General Hok Lundy for a decision on how to 
handle the case.  Thong Lim suggested that a decision might 
be made to monitor the individual.  (Note:  RGC contacts did 
not elaborate on how law enforcement or other officials would 
monitor individuals.  However, some police have been involved 
with monitoring of suspected child sex abusers during past 
investigations, usually together with NGOs.  End note.) 
Thong Lim stated that immigration officials would require 
biodata on the traveler, as well as information on the nature 
of the crime committed and when it occurred. 
 
RGC Acknowledges Recent Setbacks at the Courts 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶7.  (SBU) During meetings with DPM Sar Kheng, NTF Chair You 
Ay, and Deputy Commissioner General of Police Lieutenant 
General Neth Saveoun, the RGC officials raised the recent 
problematic Sihanoukville Court decision to release on 
probation a convicted child sex abuser, Russian national 
Nikita Belov (Refs A and B).  For the first time, Sar Kheng 
asserted that there may have been "irregularities" in the 
Belov court case and reaffirmed his past statements that he 
has instructed the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to investigate 
the specifics of the case.  Separately, MOJ Under Secretary 
of State Ith Rady told Emboff that his review of the case 
determined that the Sihanoukville judge did not understand 
that the perpetrator could be charged with a more serious 
crime.  One of the minor victims is reported to have 
testified to being forced to perform oral sex on Belov. 
However, the court chose to charge Belov with the misdemeanor 
charge of "Indecent Acts with a Minor" instead of the felony 
of "Sexual Acts with a Minor."  The misdemeanor charge 
allowed the judge to make the decision to release the 
offender on probation. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Ith Rady also updated Emboffs on two recent 
problematic Appeals Court cases, the first involving a 
Belgian national, Philippe Dessart, who was convicted of 
debauchery and sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2006, the 
second involving a wealthy Russian pedophile, Alexander 
Trofimov, who was arrested in October 2007 (Ref C).  On 
August 26, the Appeals Court upheld Dessart's 2006 conviction 
but changed the charge against him to "indecent acts against 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000772  003 OF 003 
 
 
a minor" under the new anti-TIP law and reduced his prison 
sentence to the maximum allowable prison term for indecent 
acts:  three years.  Ith Rady reported that the Cambodian 
Embassy in Belgium sent a letter to the MOJ with information 
on a previous child sex abuse conviction of Dessart in 
Belgium.  This information might help determine if there 
should be a heavier punishment for the perpetrator, as the 
court prosecutor is now appealing the Appeals Court decision 
to the Supreme Court.  The prosecutor is looking at the 
possibility of the court being able to apply a provision of 
the law stating that, "A person who repeatedly commits any 
offense (of indecent acts against a minor) shall be punished 
with double the prison punishment."  In the second case, 
Alexander Trofimov appeared for his Appeals Court trial on 
August 22; however, the Appeals Court postponed the trial 
because the court heard from Trofimov's lawyer that Trofimov 
was too sick to come to the court.  A new trial date is set 
for September 24. 
 
Details About Staff Delegation Wells 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶9.  (U) In addition to U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee 
Deputy Chief Counsel Kristin Wells, the StaffDel included 
Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Minority Staff 
Director Sheri Rickert, who authored the "International 
Megan's Law" bill; Foreign Affairs Committee Chief Counsel 
for the Minority Doug Anderson; House Judiciary Committee 
Counsel Lou DeBaca; Foreign Affairs Committee Press Assistant 
David Barnes; and Foreign Affairs Committee Administrative 
Director Melissa Adamson.  Several of the StaffDel members 
made a stop in Long Beach, California to meet with ICE and 
CBP officials there, after which the StaffDel conducted a 
four-day fact-finding visit to Thailand.  ICE Senior Special 
Agent Hung Nguyen accompanied the group to Cambodia from his 
regional office in Bangkok. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) News of the introduction of the "International 
Megan's Law" bill is a welcome development for the RGC and 
the Embassy.  Cambodia is fighting its history as a prime 
destination for child sex predators but given its existing 
reputation, an effort to track or stop American convicted sex 
offenders who intend to travel to Cambodia will be a helpful 
tool for Cambodia to fight this scourge.  It may also serve 
to decrease the number of ACS cases handled by our Consular 
Section which is currently providing consular services to two 
Amcits (Thomas Wayne Rapanos arrested March 4 and Richard 
David Mitchell arrested August 28) who were charged with 
child sex abuses in 2008.  However, if the International 
Megan's Law is passed, Cambodia's capacity to use 
notification information on an incoming convicted sex 
offender to monitor individuals and to fight child sex abuse 
is uncertain.  We've seen that the RGC can accomplish a great 
deal but successful use of police resources to monitor and 
investigate sexual expoitation have in the past typically 
required NGO involvement. 
 
¶11.  This cable has been cleared by U.S. House Foreign 
Affairs Committee Deputy Chief Counsel Kristin Wells and 
Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Minority Staff 
Director Sheri Rickert. 
CAMPBELL