90 Year-old Chiang Mai Expat Charged with Rape
A German-born Australian national, resident in the Doi Saket suburb of Chiang Mai for many years, is due in court today charged with raping 3 under-aged Thai sisters.
Karl Joseph Kraus, a wheelchair user aged 90, has been allowed to stay in a hospital rather than a police cell since his arrest on Tuesday.
After complaints from the girls’ parents that the offences have taken place over the past 2 years, police raided the home of Mr Kraus.
Around 100 photographs were confiscated and there are conflicting reports on whether some are indecent or not.
Police also subjected the bedroom of Mr Klaus to modern ‘blue light’ tests for semen, and took his mattress to the police station.
In a phone call to his son in Australia, the accused laughed at the charges, denied them, and added that he was “at home in Perth” on some of the dates that offences were alleged to have taken place.
An official from the Australian Embassy is due to attend court, where Mr Kraus faces a minimum jail sentence of 35 years if found guilty.
“If the judge decides he is guilty, we have no suitable jail for anyone in this situation” said a policewoman. “It would be better if he were deported immediately, as I am sure that Australia has the right facilities.”
