CHRISTOPHER BEHN AND SHOCKING CHILD SEX OFFENCES IN COLCHESTER AND VIETNAM
A convicted sex offender with a disturbing history has admitted to committing an additional 21 acts of sexual abuse against young boys during trips overseas.Christopher Behn, a 68-year-old man from Colchester, is already serving a nine-year prison sentence for abusing 11 children in Myanmar in 2016.
The recent charges focus on his horrific acts involving boys aged between six and 11 in Vietnam.
Behn has been characterized by police as a "committed and prolific transnational child sex offender." He is scheduled to be sentenced next month after his latest admission.
During the proceedings, the retired engineer appeared remotely via a video link from HMP Albany, a high-security prison situated on the Isle of Wight.
The investigation that uncovered Behn’s extensive crimes involved cooperation between the National Crime Agency (NCA), Europol, and authorities from the Netherlands.
These agencies identified Behn as an active member of a Europe-wide criminal network engaged in traveling internationally with the sole purpose of abusing children.
The authorities traced Behn’s movements closely and linked him to numerous illicit activities across different countries.
Behn’s arrest took place at Gatwick Airport in February 2020.
Law enforcement officers detained him just before he could board a flight to Vietnam.
This arrest followed the recovery of electronic devices containing encrypted data, which included photographs clearly showing Behn in the act of abusing children.
These images were crucial evidence in linking him to his crimes.
Further investigations revealed that Behn had an extensive travel history, having visited Vietnam 18 times since 2006.
His trips also took him to several other countries, including Thailand, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, India, and Myanmar.
The NCA reported that Behn’s trips were well-documented; he and a Dutch accomplice kept diaries that described in graphic detail the abuse they committed during these travels.
In June of this year, Behn faced additional charges, including 23 counts of sexually assaulting a child and causing a child to engage in sexual activities from 2008 to 2018.
While he denied two of these charges, he will not be required to stand trial for those particular counts.
Phil Eccles, operations manager at the NCA, emphasized the severity of Behn’s criminal activities, stating that he was "a committed and prolific transnational child sex offender, who dedicated years of his life to this criminal network." Eccles added that Behn and his associates conducted their offending in remote parts of the world, often collaborating via encrypted communication channels in attempts to evade detection and law enforcement efforts.
The NCA also revealed that their ongoing investigations have identified five other men based in the UK who are believed to have connections to the same criminal network.
Authorities across multiple European countries continue to work on uncovering the full extent of these disturbing activities.
