Convicted child sex tourist Christopher Neil appeared in Richmond Provincial Court Monday morning but the public wont know the conditions of his release until today (Wednesday.) Although not charged, the former Maple Ridge resident and teacher will remain in custody until he appears in court Oct. 3 at 9:30 a.m. when a judge was expected to decide whether or not Neil should be released, and if so, under what circumstances.Neil has already spent four years in a Thai prison for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy and his nine-year-old brother, and for distributing child pornography. An unshaven Neil appeared in court for less than a minute and never looked at anyone in the overcrowded courtroom.The 37-year-old former teacher was taken into custody on Friday when he arrived at YVR. The RCMPs Integrated Child Exploitation Unit told the Vancouver Sun on the weekend that they were made aware that Neil was returning to Canada. The RCMP were allowed to arrest Neil, even though hes served his jail term, under a rarely used section of the Canadian Criminal Code. Section 180.1 (1) gives police the authority to arrest a person if that persons actions cause fear of sexual offences to a person under 16.Neil has no criminal record in Canada, but his actions in other countries were such that police felt it important to have him appear in front of a court. - For the full story, go to www.vancouversun.com.
