Crime
Australian Travel Agent, Trevor Lake, 65, Busted in Cambodia for Allegedly having Sex with Underage Girls
Sydney travel agent Trevor Lake, 65, (above) who has been working in the south-east Asian tourism industry for 28 years, was arrested in the tourist town of Siem Reap. Under Cambodian law it is illlegal to pay for sex with someone aged under 18.
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PHNOM PENH – A 65-year-old Australian Trevor Lake who is the manager of a large South-east Asian adventure travel agency has been arrested for allegedly buying sex from two underage girls and filming their sex acts together in the Cambodia city of Siem Reap.
Trevor Lake, 65, of Sydney (pictured working in Asia) has spent almost three decades working in the region.
Trevor Lake, of Sydney, was arrested following an investigation by Cambodia’s anti-human trafficking police squad in tandem with the anti-paedophile NGO, Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE).
APLE administration chief Vando Khoem told reporters Trevor Lake’s came to their attention light after one of the alleged victims, a girl aged 16, made contact with NGO’s ground staff in Siem Reap.
Siem Reap lies in Cambodia’s northwest and is the tourist gateway to the World Heritage ancient temple ruins of Angkor Wat, which date back to the 12th century.
Mr Khoem said Lake had been under investigation since late July.
Cambodian law rules that it is unlawful to pay for sex with a person under the age of 18, he said.
‘He rented an apartment in Siem Reap,’ Mr Khoem said.
‘We arrested him today in Siem Reap City’s Svay Dangkum district after we investigated him about a week ago,’ he said. ‘We are questioning him, so we cannot talk about details of the case.’
Mr. Lake’s LinkedIn page, which depicts a photograph of him with a tiger, lists him as the former manager of Discover Asia and says he has links to south-east Asian tourism going back 28 years.
APLE said police searched Lake’s apartment and seized two laptops, three cameras and two external hard disks.
He said the two alleged victims were receiving counselling and that APLE was helping the girls and their families.
Lake is in police custody and will soon be transferred to Siem Reap Provincial Prison once formal charges are laid.
Mr Khoem said he would likely face trial in the Siem Reap court in six to 12 months.
Suspected paedophile Michael Jones was arrested by Cambodian police after he was snapped strolling hand in hand with an 11-year-old girl in Phnom Pen
APLE is one of several NGOs operating in Cambodia since the government began a concerted effort a decade ago to crack down on child sex offenders, resulting in the many arrests of foreigners on juvenile sex charges.
Meanwhile, Michael Jones, of South Wales,was charged in June after girls say they were molested. Charity Action Pour Les Enfants took the pictures of Jones while investigating him after suspicions were raised last year.
Charity Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) took the pictures of Jones while investigating him after suspicions were raised on his last visit in 2013.
‘On April 9, 2013, an APLE investigator commenced the investigation into Michael Jones when he was contacting two under-age Cambodian girls along the river front,’ an APLE spokesman said.
Michael Jones was officially charged by Phnom Penh’s court prosecutor and he was remanded to Prey Sar prison awaiting further court proceedings and trial,’ the APLE spokesman said.
He was charged with carrying out indecent acts against minors and paying for child prostitution.If found guilty he faces eight years in jail.‘After the rescue, one victim was referred to a secure shelter while the other three remain on the street with their family,’ the APLE spokesman said.
