An Australian national was arrested yesterday for allegedly raping a 27-year-old masseuse in his rented house in Battambang province, according to police.
Employed as an English teacher at the University of Battambang, Robert Peter Rucioch, 61, was arrested in Ek Phnom district and will face charges today at Battambang provincial court, said Lieutenant Colonel Cheth Vanny, deputy chief of the provincial police.
“He was arrested by our police based on a complaint from a massage girl who accused him of bringing her from the massage shop to do a massage for him at his house but then forcibly raped her,” he said yesterday.
A search of Rucioch’s home, Vanny added, revealed a large quantity of pornographic images of Cambodian women on his laptop and smartphone.
“He is now facing preliminary charges related to rape and producing pornographic photos. And he is still being questioned by our expert police at provincial headquarters,” he continued.
Police are still going through the images, but “no pornographic photos of the victim”, have been located, Vanny said.
Under the law, if found guilty, Rucioch could face at least five years in prison.
Source: (The Phnom Penh Post-August 13, 2013)
