PHUKET: A man from Brisbane, in Australia, allegedly allowed his 13-year-old son to visit a prostitute on a family holiday to Samui.
The man, aged 45, is now being prosecuted under laws that were introduced to stop Australian pedophiles preying on foreign children.
One charge alleges that he caused a child under the age of 16 to engage in sexual intercourse outside Australia, and the other that he procured a child to engage in sexual activity outside his place of residence.
Police allege the offences took place on the Thai resort island of Ko Samui between September 6 and September 9 last year.
The man cannot be named because of laws designed to protect the identity of his son.
He and his lawyer both declined to comment when he faced Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday charged with the two offences, local media reported.
High-profile Queensland criminal lawyer Bill Potts told news.com.au that a father introducing his teenage son to sexual activity might once have been seen as a ''rite of passage,'' but the sexualisation of children caused significant problems.
''The age of consent is 16 because the law recognises that children need to be protected,'' he said.
The offences carry maximum penalties of 20 years in jail. The charges were adjourned until April 24.
The man, aged 45, is now being prosecuted under laws that were introduced to stop Australian pedophiles preying on foreign children.
One charge alleges that he caused a child under the age of 16 to engage in sexual intercourse outside Australia, and the other that he procured a child to engage in sexual activity outside his place of residence.
Police allege the offences took place on the Thai resort island of Ko Samui between September 6 and September 9 last year.
The man cannot be named because of laws designed to protect the identity of his son.
He and his lawyer both declined to comment when he faced Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday charged with the two offences, local media reported.
High-profile Queensland criminal lawyer Bill Potts told news.com.au that a father introducing his teenage son to sexual activity might once have been seen as a ''rite of passage,'' but the sexualisation of children caused significant problems.
''The age of consent is 16 because the law recognises that children need to be protected,'' he said.
The offences carry maximum penalties of 20 years in jail. The charges were adjourned until April 24.
