Browse Sections
Interactive
Popular Sections
RainNews
| 
Submit Comments
HAPPY ... Alan Smith pictured in Bangkok with his Thai bride Pach
advertisement
Child sex man claims witch-hunt
Simon Thacker21/12/2007
CONVICTED child sex offender Alan Smith spoke to the Observer from his new home in Thailand yesterday and told us: "There is a witch-hunt against me. I have done nothing wrong."
Mr Smith, 53, formerly Accrington Stanley mascot Stan the Monkey, had taken a teaching job near the capital Bangkok.
He was exposed this week by a national tabloid newspaper which pictured him with his hand on a young child’s shoulder.
He said he had gone to the Far East to start a new life and was happy with his Thai bride Pach, 26.
But now he has been forced to resign from his job and he has vowed to return to Accrington to confront his critics.
Smith said he was the victim of a "witch-hunt" after it was revealed he had been working wth children in Thailand – just two years after being convicted of a sex charge against a teenager.
Smith, 53, alias Stan the Monkey, appeared before Burnley Crown Court in August 2005 when he admitted sexual activity with a girl under 16 following an incident dating back to February that year.
The court was told that he prodded a 14-year-old girl’s bottom with a pool cue and later pulled up the top of her knickers.
Smith, formerly of Carter Street, Accrington was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment but as he had already been in custody for five-and-a-half months while awaiting trial, he was released immediately.
He was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for seven years, dropped as the club’s mascot and told to stay away from both home and away games.
Now he has hit the headlines again after it was revealed he has been working as a teacher’s assistant at a school near the Thai capital Bangkok.
But in an interview with the Observer, Smith protested he had done nothing wrong.
He said the negative press publicity meant he had been forced to resign from his job and he was looking to return to Accrington in the near future.
He said: "I have not been working as a teacher. I have been a teacher’s assistant helping teach English to the children and I have a very good rapport with everyone.
"I have done nothing wrong but I have lost my life and my job, so I hope the people in Accrington are very happy.
"I can’t stay in the country now as I have no job and no money, and I feel very angry about what has happened. All I did was give a 14-year-old girl a wedgie. I am in the country legally and I have a visa. But I will come back to Accrington and I plan to sort things out."
Smith said he was angry that Accrington Stanley’s name had again been brought up in media reports since he was no longer the club’s mascot.
He added that he had been married to a Thai woman named Pach, 26, for nearly two years.
Under Thai law, applicants for a visa to teach in the country must show they have a criminal record clearance from the UK.
Although the Sex Offenders’ Register prevents him from working with children in this country, it does not prevent him from working with them outside the UK.
Hyndburn MP Greg Pope said he was alarmed at the situation and was planning on raising the issue in Parliament.
He said: "I am very concerned that anyone who has been convicted of a sex offence in the UK, and has then been put on the register, is able to get a job teaching in another country. Clearly, this is unacceptable.
"One of the problems we face is that British law only applies within our own country and another is the fact that not all countries treat these matters as seriously as we treat them in the UK.
"I plan to raise this matter with the Home Secretary to see what can be done."
Mr Pope said one way of dealing with the issue would be to take away the passports of those convicted of serious sexual offences in order to prevent them from going abroad.
Detective Inspector Jim Elston, of Lancashire Police, said Mr Smith had informed the authorities of his plans to go to Thailand.
He said: "He was not obliged to inform the police about when he intended to return to the UK but intimated that it would be in April. When he did not return, we alerted the appropriate agencies including Interpol in line with agreed national protocols.
"Mr Smith has not breached the requirements of the Sex Offenders’ Register in the UK and the matter now lies with the Thai authorities."
Both the Thai Embassies in London and Bangkok were unavailable for comment.
Before his conviction in 2005, Smith found fame after winning the BBC2 quiz show The Weakest Link presented by Anne Robinson.
Most recent 2 of 3 user comments
24/12/2007 at 12:57
Got an opinion you want to share?Should fluoride be added to our water supply
| Card | BT Fee |
| Capital One BT Platinum Card | 3.0% |
| Virgin Credit Card | 2.98% |
| Egg Card | 3.0% |
| Barclaycard Platinum | 2.9% |
| Capital One BT Exclusive | 3.0% |
| Company | Typical APR |
| Platinum Exclusive Loan | 7.5% |
| Moneyback Bank | 7.8% |
| Barclays | 7.9% |
| Halifax (Semi-exclusive) | 8.6% |
| Bank of Scotland (Semi-exclusive) | 8.6% |
| Alliance & Leicester | 8.7% |
| Provider | AER* |
|
ICICI BANK HiSAVE Fixed Rate Account |
7.20% |
|
HALIFAX Web Saver |
7.00% |
|
ICICI BANK HiSAVE Fixed Rate Account |
6.77% |
|
ICICI BANK HiSAVE Fixed Rate Account |
6.56% |
If it has happened once it can happen again....a leopard never changes their spots.....
12/01/2008 at 16:58