Convicted Australian Child Molester Arrested in Ubon Rathchathani

Peter Dundas Walbran, from Sydney, was detained on Wednesday at his apartment in the north eastern town of Ubon Rathchathani, 614 kilometers from Bangkok where he has been teaching at Narinukun international school.

Thai police investigators told reporters Walbran was being held by Thai immigration police pending investigations of whether he committed sex offenses while living in Thailand.

The raid on the apartment came soon after new Thai legislation had come into force criminalizing the possession of child abuse material, with offenders facing up to 10 years in jail.

Walbran, was jailed by Indonesian authorities in 2012 over the rape and molestation of Indonesian boys, some under the age of 10.

He was extradited to Indonesia from Australia following a request by Jakarta’s Law and Human Rights Ministry. He served two years of a three-year jail term in Lombok before being deported back to Australia in April last year.

Australian authorities said Walbran failed to complete the process of registration with Australia’s National Child Offender Register before departing Australia using a New Zealand passport.

Walbran traveled to Thailand from New Zealand which enabled him to avoid Australian travel alerts for convicted pedophiles.

Thai authorities said Walbran’s visa had now been cancelled and if Thai investigations failed to uncover any local offenses he would be deported back to New Zealand.