An HIV-infected sergeant major in the Thai army has been arrested for the alleged rape of an estimated 75 teenage boys, age 13-18, who he lured using a false profile on the gay dating app “Blued.”
Police detained 43-year-old Jakkrit Khomsing at a house in Khon Kaen province’s Nam Phong district on Wednesday, deputy head of the technology crime task force Surachate Hakparn said at a press conference yesterday.
Surachate said that Jakkrit would talk teenagers into sending him compromising photos of themselves during chats on the dating app. Many allegedly fell for the scheme because he used photos of a very attractive man to misrepresent himself in his “Blue” profile, according to Post Today.
After meeting up and realizing Jakkrit was not the man in his profile, he would then allegedly use the photos to blackmail them into having sex.
“We have evidence that he raped the boys, about 75 of them… and he confessed,” said Surachate.
Of that number, police have so far identified the names and addresses of 28 victims, according to Khaosod. Investigations into the other victims continue, however Surachate noted that this could be a slow process as the majority of the victims were underaged.
Jakkrit — who has been stripped of his military rank — first got on the authorities’ radar after a victim contacted the technology crime task force via their Facebook page, the Thai-language publication reported.
He had allegedly carried out the sexual assaults for four years, ever since being stationed in Bangkok.
Investigations revealed that Jakkrit was infected with the HIV virus in 2009 but only received treatment for an eight-month period in 2014.
In total, the suspect faces six charges, including the rape and molestation of underage children.
The maximum penalty for child rape in Thailand is 20 years in jail.
HIV testing and counselling services are being provided to alleged victims.
Additional reporting by AFP
