PHUKET: A Ukranian man arrested on Phuket in 2009 has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in the US for running a network of porn sites that catered to pedophiles around the world.
Tourist Police arrested Maxsim Shynkarenko, then 31, who was on Phuket on a tourist visa when he came to the notice of authorities.
Phuket police impounded three laptops at the time of his arrest but a Phuketwan report at the time said he had been reluctant to provide officers with user passwords.
Five years on, Shynkarenko, who resisted extradition from Thailand for three years, is considered to be ''the most significant distributor of child pornography ever prosecuted in the US''.
According to the Bangkok Post, Shynkarenko apparently was not involved in pedophile offences during the brief time between his arrival on Phuket and his arrest in 2009. But authorities say he was using proceeds from his pedophile network and money laundering schemes.
The sentence passed by US District Judge William Walls this week was part of a plea deal reached by the Shynkarenko in early January - almost five years after his arrest in Thailand and 18 months after his extradition to the US.
He will be kept in isolation from other prisoners while in jail and deported on release from prison.
Judge Walls told Shynkarenko at the sentencing: ''You have pleaded guilty to one of the most serious crimes imaginable in our culture as human beings. I can't think of anything more horrific.''
Shynkarenko spoke briefly in court: ''I want to just say I regret my crime, and I am grateful for the chance to change my life.''
The 2009 arrest order, carried out by Tourist Police in a luxury rented house at Moo 7 Saiyuan Road, Chalong, came from the US District of New Jersey.
Shynkarenko was wanted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Department of Homeland Security.
Tourist Police arrested Maxsim Shynkarenko, then 31, who was on Phuket on a tourist visa when he came to the notice of authorities.
Phuket police impounded three laptops at the time of his arrest but a Phuketwan report at the time said he had been reluctant to provide officers with user passwords.
Five years on, Shynkarenko, who resisted extradition from Thailand for three years, is considered to be ''the most significant distributor of child pornography ever prosecuted in the US''.
According to the Bangkok Post, Shynkarenko apparently was not involved in pedophile offences during the brief time between his arrival on Phuket and his arrest in 2009. But authorities say he was using proceeds from his pedophile network and money laundering schemes.
The sentence passed by US District Judge William Walls this week was part of a plea deal reached by the Shynkarenko in early January - almost five years after his arrest in Thailand and 18 months after his extradition to the US.
He will be kept in isolation from other prisoners while in jail and deported on release from prison.
Judge Walls told Shynkarenko at the sentencing: ''You have pleaded guilty to one of the most serious crimes imaginable in our culture as human beings. I can't think of anything more horrific.''
Shynkarenko spoke briefly in court: ''I want to just say I regret my crime, and I am grateful for the chance to change my life.''
The 2009 arrest order, carried out by Tourist Police in a luxury rented house at Moo 7 Saiyuan Road, Chalong, came from the US District of New Jersey.
Shynkarenko was wanted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Department of Homeland Security.
would be interested to know if he gets put in with the general population in prison as pedophiles normally to last too long in those circumtances
Posted by sky on June 20, 2014 10:25
Editor Comment:
''He will be kept in isolation from other prisoners while in jail and deported on release from prison.''