US Citizen Condemned to 154 Years in Costa Rica for Sexually Abusing Children
By Casa Alianza

A US citizen was condemned today to 154 years in a Costa Rican jail for sexually abusing street boys and for the production of child pornography.

Scott Thomas Cochran, 39, was convicted by the Penal Court of San Jose to over one and a half centuries in jail for multiple counts of production and distribution of child pornography, paid sexual relations with a child and the corruption of minors.

Due to Costa Rican legislation, his sentence was reduced to a maximum of 45 years in jail.

Casa Alianza’s Legal Aid Program made the first complaint against Cochran with Costa Rican judicial authorities in March 2002 when neighbors complained to the organization that an American was bringing very young street children to his apartment in the Barrio Dent suburb of the Costa Rican capital.

According to the complaint, the children would spend several days in Cochran’s apartment and he threatened the neighbors with a gun saying he would shoot them if they made any complaints.

The children’s human rights organization made a second complaint with the Special Prosecutor on Sex Crimes in September 2001 after no action had been taken against him. According to the report, Cochran would recruit homeless and poor children from the area around the San Pedro shopping mall and offer them food at his home. Children as young as seven years old were reportedly abused by Cochran who, according to local press reports, is afflicted with AIDS.

Cochran traveled back and forth between the United States and Costa Rica and was finally arrested on January 20th, 2003 in a new apartment he had rented in Rohmoser, a wealthy western suburb of San Jose. In the raid on his home, police authorities discovered more than 1,000 images of child pornography, child porn videos as well as a series of sex toys, etc.

As a result of the arrest of Cochran, it was discovered that he was seemingly a member of an international group of pedophiles with other members reportedly in Costa Rica and the United States. US authorities also arrested another suspect from Sacramento, California, with the surname Fox. Members of the group had traveled to Tijuana, Mexico and Peru on what appeared to be “sex tourism” in the region of Cusco and Lima in November 2002. The investigation also showed that Cochran and his friends were planning trips to Puerto Rico, Brazil and Thailand.

A total of 10 Americans have been convicted of sexual exploitation of children in Costa Rica during the past three years in an attempt to crack down on adults who come to the country to abuse children. Abusers of several other nationalities are also either convicted or awaiting trial.

Casa Alianza has received a total of 147 complaints of different forms of commercial sexual exploitation of children in Costa Rica during the first 6 months of 2004 – a 50% increase over the same period in 2003.

“We are not sure if this increase in the number of complaints of abuse against children reflects an increased awareness by the population who are now picking up the phone and reporting incidents, or whether there is an increase in the levels of abuse”, reflected Bruce Harris, Regional Director for Latin American Programs of Casa Alianza, a non governmental agency that defends human rights in Central America and Mexico.

The Swiss Embassy has funded Casa Alianza’s Legal Aid Office in Costa Rica this past year.