Swiss national charged with child abuse

Kerala Police have registered a case against an 80-year-old Swiss national on charges of child abuse over the past five years. The case is likely to blow the lid on sex tourism thriving in the state.

According to the police, four complaints have been lodged against retired engineer Jacob Spalti, who has been staying at Kovalam, a tourist destination near Thiruvanathapuram, for the past 20 years. Children, two of them teenagers, have told the police that Jacob had repeatedly subjected them to sexual abuse. The children, all of them hailing from poor socio-economic background, were lured into the rented house of the foreigner, who offered them money and other facilities.

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According to social activists, around 24 boys and teenagers had been subjected to sexual exploitation by Jacob.

Sources said the foreigner had even got one of the teenagers trained in professional massaging for his personal service. Jacob, who frequently shuttled between Switzerland and India, used to financially support the poor people at Chowara near Kovalam reportedly to win the confidence of the local people.