Armenia jails US businessman for paedophilia

A US businessman of Armenian origin has been jailed for 15 years for paedophilia, the state prosecutor's office said on Friday, in a case that shocked the socially conservative Christian country.

The businessman, 70-year-old mining company owner Serop Der-Boghossian, was convicted on Thursday of sexually assaulting teenage boys in the northern Armenian industrial town of Akhtala, where his firm is the main employer.

"The court found that Der-Boghossian, against the minors' wishes and by exploiting their powerlessness, social vulnerability and psychological state, was involved in homosexual activity and acts of a sexual nature (with the boys)," a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, Sona Truzian, told AFP.

The case against the businessman, who was also an adviser to Armenia's prime minister until the paedophilia allegations were publicised by local media, caused a nationwide scandal.

It led to accusations that the authorities were failing to properly combat paedophilia because of light sentences handed down in many abuse cases, with one prosecutor raising fears that Armenia risked becoming a hub for international child sex tourism unless punishments were toughened.

The prosecutor's office said that the 10 teenagers that Der-Boghossian was convicted of abusing came from poor families and the businessman gained influence over them by giving them money.

In court, Der-Boghossian admitted having sex with the boys but said that they had consented, the prosecutor's office said.

Child protection experts in Armenia believe that many cases of paedophilia go unprosecuted because parents are often reluctant to report sex crimes against children.
 

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