The predator who stalked schools in Bangkok

Though there has been an alarming increase in reports of children being sexually assaulted and/or abused in Thai schools, most parents read these reports noting that such cases tend to happen in state-run schools and the victims, more often than not, are from low-income families.

But what happens when the school they have so carefully chosen turns out to be dangerous?

Mr. V has been a teacher since 1990. He began his career in the Philippines before shifting to Thailand in 1992. He returned to the United States in 2016.

Over the course of his career, this man has taught at two international schools in Bangkok, where reports are now emerging of him abusing many of his young charges.

His time in Bangkok

Mr V spent five years at International School “A” in the East of Bangkok, and while no victim has come out to speak from this school, a fellow teacher has testified that he and other co-workers were uncomfortable with his behaviour. They would often spot Mr V at malls with an entourage of six to eight students from the school on weekends.
He left the school in 1997 after word spread among his colleagues and the management of his behaviour. They suspect he felt he was attracting too much attention.

Some sources have indicated that a parent had threatened him with legal action unless he left.

Mr V soon found another, albeit a less well-paid job, at International School “B” in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district, where he worked for 19 years.
It was here that reports of his grooming and abusive sexual behaviour began emerging. One teacher said that while he was chaperoning a school field trip in Pattaya in 2008-2009, he ran into Mr V, who was also on a “field trip” with four or five 8th-grade boys.

The teacher was checking rooms to see if his charges had turned in, when he accidentally knocked on Mr V’s door. It opened and behind him were all the boys. He later realised that Mr V was sleeping in the same room as the 8th graders.

Another teacher, who frequently interacted with many of the same students as Mr V, wrote in his testimony of the inappropriate behaviour he witnessed.

“While the school did not have a formal protocol for reporting such behaviour at the time, I did provide very candid and explicit reports of concerning incidents to various school administrators, including counsellors, heads of school and principals,” the teacher said.

What witnesses say

The teacher recounted a 2008 school trip to Taiwan with the basketball team. He said Mr V insisted on sharing a hotel room with a 15- or 16-year-old student despite another room being available. He claimed the student was used to his snoring.
The same teacher also recounted seeing Mr V inappropriately getting two male students to sit on his lap and grind against him in a sexual manner. This incident was verbally reported to school administrators, but nothing was done.

In his testimony, the teacher added that it was widely known among international teachers that Mr V regularly invited teenage boys to his home for weekend sleepovers, luring them with boxing equipment, movie projectors, video game systems and a Spiderman-themed bedroom.

Victims have said that during these sleepovers, Mr V would show them pornographic videos before performing oral sex.

School administrators, meanwhile, said they were aware of this, but claimed there was little they could do because the parents had consented to their child being at his home.

“It was widely known within the teaching community that Mr V's behaviour was concerning, but unfortunately, these concerns were often downplayed or dismissed as a joke,” the teacher said.

It is believed that Mr V’s long tenure and connections at International School “B” made him virtually untouchable.

Victims speak up

Five victims have reportedly given police testimony in the hope of seeing Mr V flung behind bars.

Tan (not his real name) is one of the victims who has devoted his time and energy to seeking justice for himself, fellow students and others who were also sexually abused by this teacher.

He told The Nation what happened to him while he was a student at International School “B”. He was 14 at the time and had gone to the United States on a study trip with two other students and a foreign male teacher. Upon arrival, he discovered that the sleeping arrangements were such that he had to share a bed with Mr V.

During the month there, Mr V regularly showed the child pornographic films, insisting that he removed his trousers and performed oral sex on him without warning. This happened every night.

The boy was afraid to fight back because the teacher was muscular and often acted like he was a skilled fighter. Once he repeatedly threw a knife at empty boxes, terrorising the 14-year-old.

When Tan returned to Thailand, he would go see Mr V every weekend.
“This went on for six months until I reached the point where I couldn’t take it anymore and I stopped going to see him. It was like I had the so-called Stockholm syndrome. I tried to explain to myself that there was a reason I was willing to do this. That I was not a victim. Until I eventually blocked him and stopped seeing him,” he said.

Tan reckons that in his 30 or so years as a teacher, Mr V has possibly abused 50 to 60 students.

The Nation spoke to another student, who also said the abuse began while he was in the 8th grade, recounting a disturbing incident when the teacher hired a female prostitute and videotaped them having sex.

The teacher had manipulated the student into believing that this was normal for boys his age. As he grew older, he blocked out the trauma and even remained on friendly terms with the teacher after graduating. It was only much later that he realised the full impact of the abuse.

Never too late

Since these incidents took place 15 years ago, they cannot be brought to court in Thailand, but fortunately, there is no statute of limitations on sexual assault cases in the United States.

Tan and several other victims have received help from the US-based The A21 organisation and Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI). They have filed a police complaint at Samut Prakan’s Bang Kaew Police Station and their case was forwarded to the US Homeland Security in April this year. However, it has been five months now, and the US agency has not responded.

Meanwhile, the former students managed to track Mr V down to a school in Los Angeles in California, and told the administrators there of their experience. Mr V’s name and photograph was removed from the school’s website, though the school has refused to provide any information of Mr V’s whereabouts, saying it’s an internal matter.

It is believed that Mr V is still in the United States and cannot be expected to stay under the radar for too long. He was last reported to have allegedly borrowed US$1,000 from a former student in Thailand, who apparently had no clue of the man’s sexual misconduct.

He may also not be able to leave the country as his case is with Interpol.

The Nation reached out to both the alumni and the school for further comment, but has yet to receive a response.