American convicted for abusing Cambodian boys

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court has sentenced an American man to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing two underage boys.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court convicted Philip Bruce Shepard (pictured), 69, on Wednesday of paying for child prostitution with two boys, aged 12 and 15.

The boys' parents had filed a complaint to police who monitored the man's movements and arrested him in July on his way to work at a Phnom Penh children's hospital.

The court ordered Shepard expelled once he serves his prison time.

Cambodia has long been a magnet for foreign pedophiles because of poverty and poor law enforcement. In recent years police and courts have increasingly targeted sex offenders.