American arrested over pedophilia suspicion

Published On: December 10, 2019 07:28 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Dec 10: An American national has been arrested on suspicion of molesting children, police said Monday. Jason Lloyd Moody, 41, was arrested on Sunday from Kathmandu-based Memorial Guest House where he was found staying with three young minor girls.

The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police, the bureau that carried out the operation based on special intelligence report, said that Lloyd was caught under questionable circumstances at room no 104 of the hotel close to Tribhuvan International Airport. He is under interrogation of suspect of raping the minors.

In a statement, CIB spokesperson SSP Bel Bahadur Pandey has urged the victims or other people with more details about the suspect to contact the bureau.

“It has been revealed that the suspect, who is in tourist visa, is a pedophile, and we would like to request victim or anyone with information to come forward to help police in investigating the case,” reads the statement.

Police also seized three American passports, a laptop, four sets of mobile phone, ATMs of various banks, Master Cards and bank cheque and an identity card of Bishwa Bhasa Campus issued in the name of the suspect.

Moody is the latest in a long list of foreigners to be arrested for pedophile related offenses. Twelve out of fourteen people arrested in suspicion of being pedophile in the last three years were foreign nationals, according to police. Many of them were involved in humanitarian works or associated with organizations working on areas of child rights and welfare.

In July, Peter Dalglish, a Canadian renowned across the globe for his humanitarian works, was sentenced to 9 years in prison after he was found guilty of raping two children. Dalglish, who denied the allegation, had announced to appeal.

Stakeholders say that Nepali children, especially those from poor family background, are becoming the soft target of child predators from across the globe due to thriving aid industry, impressionable mindset of Nepalis, growing poverty, and ineffective laws and safety net for child protection.