A serial paedophile used a swirl app to hide his identity on the internet but was arrested after a worldwide manhunt. The case of Christopher Paul Neil, a Canadian school teacher, has gone viral after a user posted about him on Reddit.
The post carried two side-by-side images - one swirled and another unswirled - of Neil, who was arrested in Thailand in 2007.
A pedophile living in Thailand kept his identity anonymous by using a swirl app. Interpol unswirled his face and he got arrested in 2007. He now lives in Canada
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Neil, 32 at the time, was charged with sexually abusing minors as young as six in nearly 200 pictures that circulated online.
He was detained at a home he rented with a Thai boyfriend in Nakhon Ratchasima, The Guardian reported at the time.
German authorities used a computer application to digitally unscramble the swirls that covered the face of a man seen having sex with boys in Cambodia and Vietnam.
Within a few days, 350 calls and texts were sent to Interpol, confirming his name, age, passport number, nationality, occupation, and previous and current employment locations.
Additionally, Thai police traced cell phone calls to locate the offender in northeastern Thailand, at a residence far from the usual tourist route, per NBC News.
A tip led to Neil's arrest as Thai police drove their hostage 150 miles to Bangkok. Detectives from Interpol were equally thrilled when the suspect was arrested following a special nine-day campaign.
But Neil abruptly quit the South Korean school where he was teaching on the day his photos were made public and left for Bangkok International Airport.
He wore spectacles and shaved his head to conceal his identity when the Thai immigration authorities photographed him at the airport, initiating a nationwide search.
Bangkok police issued an arrest order against him after being approached by a Thai adolescent who claimed the teacher had mistreated him years ago.
A "high-risk sex offender," Neil was known as "swirl face" due to his efforts to conceal his true identity. He served time in prison in Canada and Thailand.
Known as "Vico," Neil, now 50, lived in Thailand on several occasions between 2002 and 2004. As a first step towards extradition, Interpol issued a "red notice" international sought person warrant.
A trace was placed on Neil's cell phone, which led to the residence of a 25-year-old Thai transsexual named Ohm in Nakhon Ratchasima. Neil asked for a lawyer and confirmed his identity when he was arrested.
He was imprisoned in Thailand from August 2008 to September 2012 after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two minors. He was deported to Canada after being freed, BBC reported.
He entered a guilty plea to five more charges in December 2015, including possessing child pornography in Canada and sexually abusing young boys in Cambodia. His sentence was lowered due to the time previously served.
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