A group of foreigners living in Pattaya were looking for their English friend John for more than a year. He mysteriously disappeared and they thought he may have come to some harm or even died.
John Stageman, 74, owned an East Pattaya eatery called Starlight, which suddenly shut down last month, spurring locals to start looking for him anew.
They were surprised to find out that he’s actually back in the UK in jail for child rape.
They contacted Thaivisa to step in and help them, but if they had simply Googled the man, they’d have seen stories published in October 2016 in several English newspapers about his 18-year sentence.
In the 1980s, Stageman raped a 7-year-old girl in Kent, England. Many years later, he raped the same victim, who was, by then, married. She became pregnant and did not know if the baby was her husband’s or Stageman’s. She later miscarried.
Stageman was charged for the crimes in 2005 but deemed unfit for trial due to illnesses that he may have made up, reported Plymouth Herald. These included claims of heart issues, memory loss, and dementia. The court later deemed he did not suffer these illnesses.
He was investigated again in 2013 and fled to Pattaya.
He was arrested last year after Thai officials caught him overstaying his visa. They were aware of his alleged crime and sent him back to the UK, where he was tried and found guilty.
Stageman can’t apply for parole until he is 86.
