British teacher, 38, arrested for ‘assaulting 16-year-old foreign student 10 years ago’ in Thailand
A British teacher has been arrested over the alleged sexual assault of a teenage student in Thailand 10 years ago.
The suspect, 38, identified by police under the pseudonym ‘Tyler’, allegedly took a female foreign student, 16, to his home in Phuket twice in 2014 and 2015 to ‘commit indecent acts’.
The schoolgirl reported the alleged assault to her parents, who claim they decided to wait until she left school and graduated before reporting it to police.
Upon learning of the alleged sex crime, the school immediately terminated Tyler’s contract and police began an investigation to gather evidence for an arrest warrant.
However, the British man is said to have moved to the northern province of Chiang Mai to avoid arrest.
That is until police, acting on orders from the Phuket Provincial Court, tracked down and arrested Tyler on January 31 at his Thai wife’s home in Chiang Mai, where he has been staying since 2016.
The 38-year-old suspect (pictured at the time of the arrest) allegedly took a 16-year-old female foreign student to his home in Phuket twice in 2014 and 2015 to ‘commit indecent acts’.
Upon learning of the alleged sex crime, the school immediately terminated Tyler’s contract and police began an investigation to gather evidence for a warrant.
An image from Thai immigration police shows details of ‘Tyler’ fleeing and being arrested
The immigration agency said Tyler entered Thailand in 2014 and found a job at a private school on Phuket island.
The alleged attack is said to have taken place at his home in Phuket on December 9, 2014 and again on April 2, 2015.
A spokesperson said: ‘The Immigration Office has arrested Mr Tyler, aged 38 and a British national, for inciting a minor to commit an indecent act.
“A warrant was issued for his arrest in Phuket for taking a minor of fifteen years but not more than eighteen years of age, without any justification of indecency, from his father, mother, guardian or caretaker.”
The police would not say what evidence there is against the suspect.
The parents claimed that they waited until their daughter graduated from college before filing a police complaint so that the case would not affect her studies.
The British teacher was arrested at Chalong Police Station in Phuket and charged with ‘taking a child over 15 but under 18 years of age from his guardians to commit indecent acts’.
He faces up to five years in prison if he pleads guilty or if a panel of judges finds him guilty.
David Brown, 49, from Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear, has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing girls aged between seven and eight at a leading private school in Bangkok
Brown is seen in photos and video from the Thanyaburi provincial police station
It comes after another British teacher, David Brown, 49, from Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear, was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing girls at a leading private school in Bangkok.
He allegedly lured the children into the office and pretended to give them extra English lessons before performing sex acts on the minors.
A shocked teacher at the £6,600-a-year school only discovered the alleged abuse when she claimed to have heard girls in class talking about what Brown had done to them.
Brown was held at home at 6 a.m. on January 24 in the presence of his shocked wife.
He collapsed and was taken to hospital before being discharged and questioned at the police station at 1pm.
Police are now investigating how long the alleged abuse went on and how many other children were attacked.
He had worked at the school since at least September 2017.
Police Colenal Jirawat Piampinseth today confirmed the allegations, as well as the name and identity of Brown, who he said was in a cell a few meters away.
The police officer leading the investigation said: ‘The suspect has been living in Thailand for seven to eight years. He started working at the school in 2017.
“Parents of four children have filed complaints alleging that Brown brought the children to his office to teach them English and then sexually abused them.
‘He was arrested at his home at 6am the next morning and fainted, so he was taken to Pathumvet Hospital. He arrived at the police station at 1 p.m.
“David’s wife acted as an interpreter… He has been held in a cell at the station while the investigation continues.”
Brown is pictured working at the school, which charges parents up to THB 300,000 (£6,600) a year in fees
The Siam International School in Pathum Thani, on the outskirts of the Thai capital Bangkok
Brown is said to have a young daughter with his Thai wife, Toey Srisangar, who accompanied him to the police station.
Brown can be seen in photos and video from the Thanyaburi provincial police station wearing a blue T-shirt, green hat and white face mask.
The alleged abuse is said to have been exposed by a teacher at the school, who charges parents up to THB 300,000 (£6,600) a year in fees.
The school principal said that when the conversation was overheard, students were immediately questioned.
The police were informed and told the school that the parents should file a complaint against the teacher. Brown was later arrested after the parents of four girls filed complaints.
If charged and convicted, Brown faces up to 10 years in prison.
An FCDO spokesperson said: ‘We are in contact with Thai authorities regarding the arrest of a British man in Thailand.’