Thai abbot charged with allegedly asking for sex from over 20 children
Udon Thani police on Tuesday searched the residence of Pramuk Jaroensuk, 49, an abbot of a temple in Ban Pheu district, after Noy (last name withheld) a villager in Kheu Nam subdistrict, filed a complaint alleging that the abbot had invited her 12-year-old daughter to have sex with him.
At the suspect’s abode in the temple, officers reportedly found two mobile phones and a tablet containing a video clip of himself masturbating. The clip matched the one Noy claimed Pramuk sent to her daughter, along with the text “Answer me if you want easy money”.
Noy told officials that when she found the video clip with the invitation on her daughter’s phone, she replied asking what he wanted.
“The sender said he would offer Bt2,000 (S$88) in exchange for sex with him. I searched his name and found that he was the abbot at this temple so I notified the police,” she said. “My daughter said her friends who are in Prathom 6 [grade 6] also received similar invitations from the suspect.”
A preliminary investigation revealed Pramuk is a Khon Kaen local and has been a monk for 23 years. He moved to the temple in Udon Thani’s Ban Pheu district 11 years ago and was elected abbot as the temple has only three resident monks.
Pramuk reportedly admitted that he allegedly texted the invitation and sent the masturbation video to more than 20 children, both male and female, aged around 11-13 years that he befriended on Facebook.
Pramuk was forced to leave monkhood and was taken to the police station, where he was charged with publicising pornographic material and attempting to have sexual intercourse with underage persons.
