By John A. Hall
The Boston Globe
PEDOPHILES and their victims dominate the media: Roman Polanski has been arrested and faces extradition to the United States for raping a 13-year-old girl more than 30 years ago; Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was abducted at age 11 from in front of her house in South Lake Tahoe, has been rescued after being held for 18 years by a registered sex offender.
What has received less attention, however, is that American pedophiles pose a grave risk to children outside the United States. They are routinely provided passports, which allow them to travel internationally to search for fresh victims away from scrutiny and US law enforcement. This practice needs to end.
The problem is significant. Worldvision, an international relief and development organization, estimates that as many as 2 million children are entangled in the commercial sex trade worldwide. Americans are estimated to encompass roughly 25 percent of all sex tourists. While Asian countries, including Thailand, Cambodia, India, and the Philippines, have long been prime destinations for Western child sex tourists, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, and Central America are also emerging as destination countries.
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