The Common Good
January 2007

Busting Pedophile Rings

by Rose Marie Berger, Jonathan Mendez | January 2007

The American owner of a bar in Cambodia that is frequented by international pedophiles was arrested in a faith-based human rights group’s effort to bring known pedophiles to ...

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The American owner of a bar in Cambodia that is frequented by international pedophiles was arrested in a faith-based human rights group’s effort to bring known pedophiles to justice. Investigators from International Justice Mission (IJM) alleged that Terry D. Smith, 54, sexually abused the 11- to 14-year-old girls who worked in his bar and prepared them to be sold to tourists. The bar is now shut down. Smith gave undercover IJM investigators a trump card by telling them about his active warrants in Oregon. After confirming warrants for child abuse and sexual assault, the investigators alerted Cambodian police, the U.S. Embassy, and the U.S. Marshals Service, which issued a federal warrant for Smith’s arrest.

  “Each arrest by Cambodian police of Western pedophiles reinforces an important message: Pedophiles are not welcome in Cambodia, and they will go to jail if they assault Cambodian children,” Sharon Cohn, who oversees all IJM investigative and intervention strategies, told Sojourners. IJM heralded Smith’s arrest as the success of international law enforcement collaboration.

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