Thai court orders extradition of alleged US child pornographer

(19 Aug 2002) 1. Bus arriving outside criminal court containing US paedophile suspect Eric Franklin Rosser and other prisoners 2. Bus stationary with police outside 3. Prisoners walking in chains around ankles 4. Eric Franklin Rosser walks down steps of bus, picks up string attached to chains around ankles 5. Prisoner's walking in chains 6. Rosser walking, followed by another prisoner 7. Reverse shot Rosser walking 8. Prisoners in cell 9. Tilt from Rosser's ankles to show him reading, Rosser looks at camera 10. Tilt up policeman's rifle 11. Tilt up from Rosser's feet to show him walking, pushes open door of criminal court 12. Various interior courtroom showing audience 13. Reverse shot Rosser, pan Rosser talking to officials from US Embassy in Bangkok 14. Rosser sitting 15. Close up Rosser 16. Various media scrum around Rosser as he emerges from court 17. SOUNDBITE: (English) Eric Franklin Rosser, Accused child pornographer: (CAMERA MOVEMENT) "I found my treatment by Thailand very reasonable and I love this country and I hope sometime I could come back (starts crying)." 18. Rosser walking with media crowding around 19. SOUNDBITE: (English) Eric Franklin Rosser, Accused child pornographer: (Reporter asks about the charges in the US and in US state of Indiana and whether Rosser already has a lawyer) Answer: "I'm sorry I can't talk about my case in the United States." 20. Rosser being led away STORYLINE: A Thai court on Monday ordered the extradition to the United States of an accused child pornographer from New York who is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List. Judge Sanchai Limtaibool of the Bangkok Criminal Court said there was enough evidence against Eric Franklin Rosser to allow the extradition requested by the US government. Rosser has 15 days to appeal the order, but he has said in the past that he would not oppose extradition. After the court ruling, fifty-year old Rosser told reporters that he would gladly turn back the clock if he could. "I found my treatment by Thailand very reasonable and I love Thailand," he said. A US Embassy diplomat who was at the court declined to comment. Rosser, a native of Syracuse, New York, who also lived in Bloomington, Indiana, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Indianapolis in March 2000 on six counts of producing and distributing child pornography, including a video allegedly showing him having sex with a girl said to be 11. In December 2000, Rosser became the first child pornography suspect placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Rosser was arrested in February 2000 in Thailand on various charges, including lewd behaviour and possessing child pornography. But he jumped bail and disappeared. Thai police said he underwent liposuction, had cosmetic surgery to his face and then travelled to the Netherlands, England and France before returning to Thailand to visit his Thai wife and his child. He was arrested again in August 2001 by FBI agents and Thai police, and has already served time for various charges against him in Thailand. When he was first arrested, Rosser had been working as a pianist at Bangkok's luxury Oriental Hotel and gave music lessons to children at his home. Regarded as a talented pianist, he once played keyboards with rock star John Mellencamp. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...