A maroon-colored sedan entered the parking lot of a shopping mall on Jl Surapati in Singaraja, North Bali.

A fifty-something Caucasian-looking man came out of the car with five teens aged 12 to 15 years old.
The children rushed to the playground area.

The foreigner shopped at the supermarket on the first floor of the mall.

“I have been very curious. I saw him take these children to the mall for the last few weeks,” commented one of the mall’s security guards.

“I am afraid that man is a pedophile,” the guard said in nervous voice.

And he has reasons to worry.

Singaraja, the capital of Buleleng regency is a notorious haven for pedophiles.  Buleleng’s poor villages have become fertile lands for child “hunters”.

The Caucasian man was reportedly staying at Giri Emas village, 15 kilometers east of Singaraja.
A number of villagers were also suspicious of the man’s activities in their village, as they noticed he was always surrounded by local teenagers.

The quiet and recluse Singaraja seems like the perfect hiding spot for pedophiles to carry out their activities away from the spotlight.

Many pedophiles impersonate Santa Claus showering children with gifts, toys, clothes and food their parents cannot afford to buy them.

Theo Zatman, a painter living at Lovina Beach, warns parents they should be more careful with their children.

A number of foreign pedophiles have already been sent to prison for sexually abusing local children. Max de Clerco, a Dutch citizen, has been detained in the Singaraja jail since 2006.

French citizen Marcial Jugler was also sentenced to seven years in prison, and Australian Philip S. Granfield received eight years.

Many of the perpetrators are allegedly linked to international pedophile rings who hunt for victims in developing countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia.

Bali also has its own local pedophiles.

In Tejakula village, Buleleng, Saffruddin, an elementary school teacher, was sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually abusing his students and other young children.

Those prison sentences however do not appear to deter pedophiles from hunting for young and innocent children.

Luh Ketut Suryani, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Udayana, says many parents do not pay close attention to their kids’ whereabouts.

“Parents of pedophile victims are usually unaware of their children’s activities. They think their children are in good hands — with rich foreigners,” says Suryani.

Some parents in remote villages in Buleleng and Karangasem are surprised when foreigners visit their humble houses looking for their sons.

“One of them even brought a picture of my son,” claims a modest mother.

It is common knowledge that pictures of young Indonesian boys can be found posted on the internet.
Despite the issuance of a child protection law, law enforcement remains weak in Indonesia, says Suryani, who also chairs the Committee Against Sexual Abuse (CASA).

De Clerco, for instance, was a soccer coach eager to establish a children soccer club in Singaraja.

“Children love playing soccer, and this pedophile entered the children’s lives through this sports game,” says a volunteer at CASA.

Other sex predators play the role of foster-fathers and pretend they are protecting children and providing them with free education.

The professor and numerous volunteers at CASA are now treating victims of pedophilia across
the island.

“Victims of pedophilia experience extreme character transformations. They become seriously depressed, physically and mentally unstable.

“Worse, they may copy their assaulter’s behavior and become pedophiles,” the professor said.
Ketut Adi, not his real name, was sexually abused when he was nine years old.

“I even slept with Mr. Max [Max De Clerco],” Adi recalls.

Another victim AG, now in his 30s, admitted he had become a robot.

“I have been sexually abused by at least 15 adult men, both Indonesian and foreigners, in the last twenty years,” says AG.

 AG is currently being treated by CASA volunteers.

“I was so ashamed of myself. But, at that time, I couldn’t help eat the delicious food, wear the beautiful clothes and was used to being treated nicely by the old men.”

At the age of 17, he tried to commit suicide. “I felt so dirty and was afraid I had contracted HIV/AIDS. It was such a lonely and miserable life,” AG remembers.

AG is just one many thousands of pedophile victims. He is now happily married to a girl and has one child.

“I cannot erase the bad memories from my mind. But, after the treatment, I regained my courage and shared my bad experience so that everyone can learn a lesson, especially parents and young people.”

Do not let child predators ruin our children’s lives, AG warned.

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