Paedophile Richard Fruin Caught in Bed with Child in Cambodia

A convicted British paedophile has been caught in bed with a child by police during a raid on a hostel in Cambodia.

Richard Fruin, 36, was found by officers inside a guesthouse located in the capital city of Phnom Penh.

Fruin, who had reportedly been working as an English teacher in the country, was arrested on suspicion of molesting the eight-year-old boy.

Police do not know at this stage if Fruin had sexual intercourse with the child at the Boeung Meas Guesthouse.

The head of Cambodia's anti-trafficking department, Lieutenant Colonel Lao Lin, said: "We arrested him for sleeping with an 8-year-old at his guesthouse.

"We are still investigating to determine whether or not he had sex [with the boy]." If convicted of purchasing a child for prostitution, Fruin would face up to five years in jail.

Fruin fled Britain while on bail in 2005, before facing 15 counts of making child pornography. He returned to the UK last year and was jailed for 12 months at Gloucester Crown Court.

The boy's mother told local media her two older sons had also spent time with Fruin at the guesthouse. She told the Cambodia Daily: "'If police had not taken any action last night, I don't know what he would have done to my son. I had no idea that he intented to hurt my children."

The guest house owner said she "never saw anything strange" while Fruin was staying at her establishment.

An organisation devoted to stopping child abuse said Fruin had been investigated for a month. "He had a history of abuse and the police also found many more possible victims," said Khoem Vando, director of Action Pour Les Enfants.

Cambodia, a popular destination for paedophiles, was where disgraced pop star Gary Glitter lived from a time after hardcore images of child sexual abuse were found on his computer.