Cambodia's Child Sex Crackdown

Already by June of this year, Cambodia was elevated slightly on the latest State Department tables to a tier 2 "watch list." Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said that the government has its sights set even higher. "We don't want to stay on tier 2. We want to go to tier 1," he said. "We have the political will. Cambodia will not be a place for child sex tourists."

When it comes to Cambodia's new hard line, the writing is on the wall — literally. Posters on display at the airport warn foreign visitors that abusing children will be paid for with as many as 20 years in prison. Some posters tout the slogans "Turn a sex tourist into an ex-tourist" and "Abuse a child in this country, go to jail in yours." Child predator message boards on the Web have also taken note, said the IJM investigator who staked out Smith's bar and spoke on condition that his identity remain a secret due to the nature of his undercover work.

"Two years ago, Cambodia was the number one destination for pedophiles," the investigator said. Now, he added, the Web sites identify the country as a risk. Cambodia is still a destination for child abusers but it has been surpassed in the last two years by even more lawless places such as the Dominican Republic, Bosnia and Guatemala.

"Ten years ago they would come here with impunity to do what they want and leave," the investigator said. "They are still coming to Cambodia but... they've got to be a little bit smarter."

For Chanthol Oung, executive director of the Cambodian Women's Crisis Center, the recent arrests are a cause for celebration. But, she says, it's far too early to declare a victory against pedophiles.

Rather than cease coming to Cambodia, pedophiles will become smarter and also harder to track, as they branch out of Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville and into the provinces, such as the tourist town of Siem Reap and free-wheeling Koh Kong and Poipet on the Thai border, she warned. The majority of the country's rural areas don't have a specialized anti-trafficking and juvenile protection force like that operated by Keo Thea in the capital.

And though the government may have the political will to combat pedophiles, it will also need to allocate physical and legal resources, Chanthol Oung said. Pedophiles are adapting to the new regime, and are working together in networks for safety and studying the loopholes in Cambodia law that could see them walk free if they are arrested, Chanthol Oung warned. "They are still coming, but they are being smarter," she said. Which means the authorities will have to stay even smarter if they are to have more success rooting out "tourists" who are no longer welcome.