Former diplomat cleared of child porn charges
Date: December 29, 2004Source: ABC News Online
A Thai court has cleared a former Australian diplomat of child pornography charges.
Robert Scoble, 55, was on trial for distributing child pornography for profit on the Internet.
He was arrested in March after the Australian embassy in Bangkok asked Thai police to carry out an investigation into the activities of his Bangkok gay and lesbian travel agency.
A subsequent raid on Scoble's home uncovered pornographic videos depicting mature men engaged in sex acts with young boys.
Under Thai law it is not illegal to possess child pornography, but it is an offence to sell or trade in pornography.
The judge ruled that there was no evidence that Scoble had duplicated the material.
However, he was fined and given a seven month suspended sentence on lesser charges of handing out copies of a gay guide to clients of his travel business.
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