Trial opens for B.C. man accused of sexually abusing child in Thailand

A B.C. man charged with sexually assaulting a nine-year-old boy in Thailand after being the subject of an international manhunt last year went on trial in Bangkok on Monday.

Christopher Paul Neil, 32, has pleaded not guilty to charges that include sexually abusing a minor and videotaping the alleged abuse. If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Neil entered the courthouse on Monday, shackled and smiling, wearing an orange prison uniform, barefoot and chained to another prisoner.

"I hope there will be justice in Thailand," he told the Associated Press. Earlier, Neil acknowledged a friend who was in the courthouse, asking him: "How's it going?"

After Neil was assigned an attorney, the hearing was adjourned until June 2.

Prosecutors are expected to introduce some 70 photographs that allegedly show Neil engaging in sexual acts and playing with naked and partially clothed young boys.

"We've got the evidence and we have the victim," said prosecutor Sontus Singhapus.

The boy he is alleged to have assaulted will also be put on the stand. He is now 14.

Neil of Maple Ridge, B.C., was arrested last October in the northern province of Nakhon Ratchasima after Interpol issued an international appeal for help in identifying a man who appeared in 200 photos posted online depicting the sexual abuse of young Asian boys.

The man's face was obscured by a digital swirl, but computer specialists in Germany managed to reconstruct the photos. Thai police later identified the man as Neil, a Canadian who had been teaching English in South Korea.