A convicted B.C. pedophile who was once the subject of an international manhunt after trying to digitally alter his face in images of child pornography has been released from prison and plans to live in Vancouver.
BC Corrections released a public notification detailing 42-year-old Christopher Neil’s criminal history and calling him a high-risk sex offender.
In June of last year, a B.C. judge handed Neil a five-and-a-half year sentence for sex crimes in Cambodia and child pornography offences in Canada.
With credit for time served prior to being convicted the sentence became 14 months, and now Neil has been released less than 10 months later.
Neil made international headlines in 2007, when images surfaced of a man with a digitally-altered face sexually abusing two pre-pubescent boys.
Police in Germany were able to unscramble the digital images and tips poured in from around the globe, eventually leading police in Thailand to arrest Neil and charge him with child sex offences in that country.
After several years in a Thai prison, Neil was released in 2012 and returned to Canada where he was promptly re-arrested at Vancouver International Airport.
Neil is subject to 18 conditions including no contact with anyone under the age of 16, he is not to own or possess any device capable of accessing the internet, and he is not to be any place there is a reasonable expectation a child under 16 might be present.
Vancouver police say they will monitor Neil as they do all high-risk sex offenders released into the community.
