Neil Robinson, 47, of Staines in Surrey, England, who has been wanted since 2002 for the distribution of underage porn and child rape, was detained by Beijing police early yesterday, according to Beijing News (which proceeds to ask many of the questions we’ve posed, and calls for increased background checks on foreign teachers).
According to Staines People, Robinson “handed himself in to authorities.” Surrey police are currently liaising with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Chinese authorities regarding his return to the UK.
More updates as they become available.
(H/T Sinofaze, Mike Cormack)
UPDATE, 1:45 pm: China Daily spoke with an education counselor about background checks. Beijing World Youth Academy, which employed Robinson from 2008 to May 2012, could not be reached for official comment.
An education counselor with the international program at a high school attached to Tsinghua University, who declined to give her name, said that Chinese agencies often do not carry out background checks.
“Schools make phone calls or write to people for references to check prospective teachers’ credentials,” she said, adding that it was often difficult for schools to do criminal background checks.
“If applicants are from the United States, we can ask them to show a criminal background check by the US government. But it’s hard to do that in China,” she added.
UPDATE, 1/15/14, 6:15 pm: He’s been sentenced to 12 years. Via BBC:
A man who was extradited to the UK from China has been jailed for 12 years for historical sex offences.
Neil Robinson, 47, formerly of Staines in Surrey, admitted three counts of sex with a girl under 13 and three indecent assaults at a previous hearing at Guildford Crown Court.
Now. Let’s deal with the rapists that are still here:
http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/articles/blogs-beijing/expat-life/safety-concerns-sanlitun/
not to mention the homegrown ones as well, eh? or are they more palatable?
How did he get out of England with such serious charges against him?