Crime
British Expat and Former Monk Gets Suspened Sentence and Bt 83,000 Fine for Child Sex Offences
Blandford taught English to children in Fang, allowing him direct access to minors
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CHIANG MAI – British Expat Fabian Frederick Blandford, 64, who is a former ordained monk, father of two and long term resident of Chiang Mai has been given a suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay a fines totalling 83,000 baht after being found guilty of charges relating to child pornography, sexual abuse and holding a child against their will.
A Thai Court found Blandford guilty of committing lewd acts against children under the age of 15 and convicted of breaking the 2008 Anti-Human Trafficking Act, which prohibits exchanging money for, or keeping a child against their will for exploitation.
He was ordained as a monk in Chiang Mai years ago,
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Blandford was sentenced to three months in jail suspended for two years and ordered to pay a fine of 3,000 baht, for the first offence and given a four year jail term suspended for three years and ordered to pay an 80,000 baht fine on the second offence.
The court also ordered the man to check in at the probation office every four months and to complete 48 hours of community service.
He was ordained as a monk in Chiang Mai years ago, and then left the monkhood to marry a Thai woman. The couple has one child. Blandford taught English to children in Fang, allowing him direct access to minors.
Fabian Frederick Blandford, 64, a British national, is interrogated by officers from the Department of Special Investigation during a search of his house in Fang district of Chiang Mai
Blandford was arrested in January after after a tip by US Homeland Security investigators to the DSI last November. Agents from the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children found pornographic images of children sent from an IP address used by Blandford.
Source: CityNews, Bangkok Post
