100 Convicted Aussie Sex Offenders Tried to Enter Indonesia

ABC.au.net — More than 100 convicted Australian sex offenders tried to enter Indonesia between November 2014 and the end of last year, documents obtained by the ABC show. They were turned away at airport borders as part of an arrangement between Indonesian and Australian authorities.

Under the agreement, Australian immigration officers and the Australian Federal Police alert Indonesia when a convicted paedophile is travelling to their jurisdiction. The list, leaked to the ABC, shows the Australians’ names, passport and flight numbers and date of travel to Indonesia.

Bali’s police chief, Inspector General Sugeng Priyanto, has described paedophilia on the holiday island as an “iceberg” phenomenon: some offenders appear on the surface, but the real number is much larger. “These paedophilia cases have to be stopped. That’s why the police are taking two steps,” he said. “First is prevention, the other is repressive. Prevention is done through a campaign about the dangers for the under-aged, the repressive is done through law enforcement.”

The ABC was granted access to the Bali police prison in Denpasar to film an Australian man facing serious child sex crime allegations. Robert Andrew Fiddes Ellis, 69, is accused of shocking sexual abuse of at least 16 girls aged between seven and 17 over two years from 2014.

The ABC has confirmed he had no prior convictions in Australia and so Indonesian authorities were not alerted before his arrival in Bali.Denpasar’s prosecutor’s office said the Australian had admitted guilt and faced up to 15 years in jail. One of his alleged victims, known as Sekar, works at a local food market but barely makes enough to survive. Click for more www.abc.au.net