Thai Court Orders Extradition of Alleged U.S. Pedophile
Originally published by The Associated Press, August 19, 2002
BANGKOK, Thailand — A Thai court on Monday ordered the extradition to the United States of an accused child pornographer from New York who is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List.
Judge Sanchai Limtaibool of the Bangkok Criminal Court said "there was enough evidence" against Eric Franklin Rosser to allow the extradition requested by the U.S. government.
Rosser has 15 days to appeal the order, but he has said in the past that he would not oppose extradition.
After the court ruling, Rosser, 50, told reporters that he would gladly turn back the clock if he could.
"I found the treatment by Thailand very reasonable and I love Thailand," he said.
A U.S. Embassy diplomat who was at the court declined to comment.
Rosser, a native of Syracuse, New York, who also lived in Bloomington, Indiana, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Indianapolis in March 2000 on six counts of producing and distributing child pornography, including a video showing him having sex with a girl said to be 11.
In December 2000, Rosser became the first child pornography suspect placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list.
Rosser was arrested in February 2000 in Thailand on various charges, including lewd behavior and possessing child pornography. But he jumped bail and disappeared.
Thai police said he underwent liposuction, had cosmetic surgery to his face and then traveled to the Netherlands, England and France before returning to Thailand to visit his Thai wife and his child.
He was arrested again in August 2001 by FBI agents and Thai police, and has already served time for various charges against him in Thailand.
When he was first arrested, Rosser had been working as a pianist at Bangkok's luxury Oriental Hotel and gave music lessons to children at his home. Regarded as a talented pianist, he once played keyboards with rock star John Mellencamp.
