An American English teacher at a Bangkok school has been arrested in the Bang Khae district on charges related to the molestation of a minor.
Robert Le Roy Koehler, 41, was apprehended in front of a condominium building on Phetkasem Road in Bang Khae, according to police reports on Wednesday.
Koehler was wanted on a warrant issued by the Thon Buri Criminal Court on August 30, facing charges of depriving a minor under the age of 15 of parental care for obscene purposes.
The arrest followed a complaint from the mother of a 14-year-old girl, who reported that her daughter, whom she had sent to school in the Phetkasem area on the morning of February 16, did not respond to her calls for over two hours after school. That evening, the mother managed to reach her daughter by phone, who said she had been shopping alone at The Mall Bang Kae.
On March 6, the mother was informed by another teacher at the school, who had learned from a friend of the daughter, about an incident involving Koehler. According to the friend, Koehler had taken the girl to his condominium, where he allegedly fondled and hugged her.
Koehler has denied the allegations, claiming that the girl had visited his room solely for the purpose of studying.
He is currently being held at the Phetkasem police station while legal proceedings are underway.
