A former American English teacher has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for travelling to Thailand to have sex with minors. The sentence was ordered in California after prosecutors challenged a previous 10-year sentence, calling it too lenient. US District Judge Consuelo Marshall said that 61-year-old Steven Erik Prowler’s conduct was particularly “depraved”. Prowler pleaded guilty in February 2007 to federal charges of travelling abroad with the intent to have sex with a minor and to engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors in another country. The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed his first 10-year sentence following a Justice Department appeal. Prowler was arrested in Bangkok by the Royal Thai Police in 2005.