Thai man to remain in custody in child pornography case

A Thai man will remain in custody while awaiting trial in a child pornography case, a Las Vegas judge has ruled.

Manu Panatkul, 51, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leavitt on Monday, three days after his arrest at McCarran International Airport.

Federal agents arrested Panatkul on Friday night, shortly after he arrived on a Korean Airlines flight from Thailand. According to a criminal complaint, he had DVDs in his possession that contained several videos of "prepubescent minors engaged in sexual conduct."

"He was well aware that those DVDs are illegal in his country, as well as in the United States. That's what he said during his interview," said Michael Harris, assistant special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations in Las Vegas.

Panatkul identified himself as a retired biology teacher from Thailand "but denied any improper contact with children," according to the complaint.

Harris said Panatkul was planning to take a bus from Las Vegas to St. George, Utah, to visit his sister. Harris said he has reviewed the man's passport.

"It looked like he had a pattern of coming here for six months and then leaving for six months," Harris said.

That pattern began about two years ago, Harris said. He said Panatkul told authorities he came to the United States to housesit for his sister when she made trips to Thailand.

Authorities suspect Panatkul obtained the child pornography in Thailand and kept it for his personal use.

"At this time, we don't suspect that he was a distributor or that he was making DVDs here in the United States," Harris said.

Harris said authorities consider Thailand and the Philippines "source countries" for child pornography.

"We are always on the lookout for that," he said.

A criminal complaint charges Panatkul with transporting child pornography. Harris said authorities will conduct a forensic analysis of the suspect's laptop computer, digital camera and DVDs.

According to the complaint, Panatkul was selected at the airport for a secondary agricultural inspection, which yielded several prohibited agricultural items and 36 DVDs.

"An initial review of three of the discs, under border search authority, revealed several videos containing child pornography," the document alleges.

Immigration agents arrived at the airport and interviewed Panatkul with the help of a Thai translator, according to the complaint.

On Monday, Leavitt appointed the federal public defender's office to represent Panatkul.

The investigation is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's "Operation Predator," a nationwide initiative to arrest those who sexually exploit children, and the Justice Department's "Project Safe Childhood," which marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute those who use the Internet to exploit children.

Immigration officials urge members of the public to report suspected child predators through the toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.