Stats reveal at least 146 Canadians charged for sexually abusing kids abroad
Author: Canadian Press
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VANCOUVER — A law professor who tracks child-sex tourism cases says Canada is one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to enforcement of its own child-sex tourism law.

Benjamin Perrin, from the University of B.C., says at least 146 Canadians faced charges overseas for sexually abusing children and many more foreign pedophiles have paid bribes to evade charges in countries like Cambodia and Thailand.

Perrin says he recently obtained the figure from the federal Justice Department through an Access to Information request and that it pertains to cases between 1993 and 2007.

Perrin says Canada's child-sex tourism law has resulted in just one conviction since it came into effect in 1997, while countries like the United States and Australia have had more success.

Perrin also says RCMP liaison officers need to be stationed in hot spots like southeast Asia to deal with Canadians abusing children in those jurisdictions.

He says Canadian pedophiles use their passports as "get-out-of-jail" cards to move from country to country when they suspect they're being detected.

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