British Columbia

Christopher Paul Neil, convicted sex offender, jailed for 3 months

Convicted sex offender Christopher Paul Neil has been sentenced to three months in prison and three years probation for possessing devices capable of accessing the internet.

Neil sentenced for possessing devices capable of accessing the Internet

In 2007, German specialists working for Interpol 'unswirled' and recovered this image of a man's face from photos posted online depicting the sexual abuse of children. The man was later identified as Christopher Paul Neil. (Interpol)

Convicted sex offender Christopher Paul Neil has been sentenced to three months in prison and three years probation for possessing devices capable of accessing the internet.

The charges were among 10 recently laid against Neil by authorities in B.C.relating to possessing and accessing child pornography.

Neil, 39, became known as the Swirl Face sex abuser for digitally altering his face in images posted online. He was identified and arrested in Bangkok in 2007.

The most recent alleged incidents took place in 2013 in Vancouver. Neil will be tried on the other charges after serving out his sentence.

Christopher Paul Neil is shown arriving at a criminal court in Bangkok in October 2008.

Neil faces one count each of production of child porn and possession of child pornography relating to incidents that allegedly occurred in 2007 in Maple Ridge.

He also faces two counts of sexual touching and two counts of invitation to sexual touching stemming from alleged incidents in 2003 in Cambodia. None of the allegations have been proven in court. 

The Criminal Code gives Canadian authorities the power to investigate and prosecute certain offences, such as child pornography and the victimization of children, committed by Canadian citizens in other countries. 

Neil was convicted of a series of sexual offences involving children in Bangkok in 2008.

He sparked a worldwide Interpol manhunt after German police digitally unscrambled internet photos of him sexually abusing boys in Southeast Asia.

He was returned to Canada in September 2012, after serving his sentence in Thailand, and has been subject to a series of conditions ever since.

Before his arrest overseas, the former Maple Ridge resident worked as a teacher in several parts of Asia dating back to 2000. He had also worked as a part-time teacher in B.C.