The decision to pardon three pedophiles in December “undermined the credibility of Cambodian efforts to combat child sex tourism”, according to the US State Department’s 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report, released yesterday.

Russian national Alexander Trofimov, also known as Stanislav Molodyakov, German national Alexander Watrin and Dutch national Rene Paul Martin Aubel were granted royal pardons from pedophilia convictions by King Norodom Sihamoni.

Collectively, they had been convicted of committing sex crimes against 27 boys and girls.

“Three convicted foreign pedophiles – one of whom is also a sex-trafficking offender and one of whom was convicted in the largest child sex offender case in Cambodian history [Trofimov] – were pardoned and released early from prison,” the report states.

Ministry of Interior and Department of Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection officials could not be reached yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Boyle at [email protected]