Teacher traveled to Thailand for sex tourism - Feds say

A Conecuh County computer teacher bragged in emails about traveling to Thailand to have sex with boys, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Clarence Edwards Evers Jr., 52, was arrested on Thursday morning at Hillcrest High School in Evergreen, authorities said. He taught information technology classes at the school.

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Clarence Edward Evers Jr.

Evers has not been charged with any crime. He is due in court for a preliminary detention hearing at 11:30 a.m. Friday at the U.S. District Courthouse in Mobile.

Unsealed on Thursday, the criminal complaint filed against Evers states that he produced child pornography; transported child pornography; received child pornography; accessed with intent to view child pornography; and, traveled into a foreign country with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

It details a number of explicit emails that Evers sent detailing his sexual encounters dating back to 2004 Evers sent an email in January 2005 where he discusses that activity in Thailand's eastern Gulf coast region was not as bustling as it used to be.

"Not sure if it's the tsunami issue, or just general lack of interest in Thailand, but folks are apparently staying away in droves," Evers wrote, according to the complaint. "All the more for us die-hards, I suppose. Can't wait 'til next year."

Two years ago, Evers discussed in an email with an acquaintance a string of related prosecutions in Thailand.

"I still plan to go this summer, but I definitely have to rethink my playtime strategy," Evers wrote, according to the complaint. "It sure seems more apparent every day that we were there at a very good time in history, and that those good times are exactly that: history."

U.S. Attorney Kenyen Brown addressed the growing threat of child sex tourism in a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

"The relative ease of international travel in modern day society has led to the growth of a dark, clandestine and sinister phenomenon: the extraterritorial sexual exploitation of children," Brown said.

Photographs, movies, emails and other digital files that were seized in connection with the investigation were "voluminous," Brown said.

Currently, investigators have no evidence of local victims, Brown said. But there may be some who have not come forward.

Anyone who has additional information about related crimes should contact Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Conecuh County Sheriff's Office, and the Mobile Child Advocacy Center.

Conecuh County Public Schools Supt. Zickeyous M. Byrd said in a statement on Thursday afternoon that he was unaware of any allegations of abuse between Evers and his students.

Evers was temporarily assigned to the board's main office on Aug. 6 and he has been suspended pending further investigation.

"We are cooperating fully with law enforcement officers in whatever way we can and as soon as we learn more we will keep everyone informed," Evers said.

Prosecutors also said that Evers had a long involvement with the Boy Scouts of America most recently as a scout leader.

Spencer Page, BSA Gulf Coast Council executive director, said that Evers was registered as a den leader in 2000, but he never renewed his registration after that year. You need to maintain your registration with the group to stay active.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the Conecuh County Sheriff's Office.

Teacher traveled to Thailand for sex tourism, feds say | AL.com

Is this in the Thai news yet?

No, he didn't travel to Thailand for "sex tourism," he did so to molest children. There is a big difference.

A BSA scout leader. Now that's got to be making some parents uncomfortable. Perish the thought.

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Originally Posted by Hans Mann

Homeland Security Investigations

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have they privatised the detectives ?

Judge takes case of Alabama teacher accused of sex tourism in Thailand under submission

It's now up to a federal judge to determine if the Conecuh County computer teacher who was charged with having sex with boys in Thailand could be put on house arrest.

On Friday, Clarence Evers Jr. appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sonja Givins in U.S. District Court in Mobile for a preliminary hearing.

Federal prosecutors described him as a flight risk and a danger, while a family member and Evers' attorney portrayed him as a pillar of the community.

This happened one day after federal authorities unsealed a shocking criminal complaint that charged the 52-year-old Evergreen man with making trips to the Southeast Asian country for more than a decade for sex tourism. He was also charged with producing and distributing child pornography.

This is a sharp departure from the image his mother, Jean Evers, presented to the court on Friday. She described him as a popular, respected community leader.

"Mothers have cried about the influence he had on their children's interest in school," she said before the court.

She said he was actively involved with a local Boy Scouts troop, of which he had no children of his own enrolled.

Givins is expected to make a decision within the next couple days about Evers' confinement. For now, he remains in the custody of U.S. Marshals.

Evers has taught for around fifteen years. Evers traveled to Thailand since 2002 during summer breaks from school, federal prosecutors said.

Kandace Whitehead, Homeland Security Investigations special agent, painted Thailand as a place with such poverty that some locals turn to the illegal sex industry to make money off tourists. Law enforcement corruption has aided in allowing the black market industry to thrive, she said.

Numerous amenities aid the sex market, such as rental properties and bars that accommodate tourists looking to take advantage of children, Whitehead says. She even mentioned a "show" that Thai sex workers perform in, in which they can be ordered to perform services off a board displayed in a participating bar.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Murphy said in the hearing that Evers was a flight risk, citing a file in his Gmail that looks to be a forged passport with a fake name and identification number next to Evers' face. What's more, she said that Evers speaks Thai well enough to "support himself" and may have a place to live and work in if he fled to Thailand. Financial records also point to large sums of money moved from an Alabama Bank to accounts in the country.

Murphy also said in the hearing that investigators found a counterfeit DEA agent ID in the 2015 raid. Whitehead, however, admitted in cross-examination that the ID was a bad fake and likely would not fool border agents.

Whitehead testified that the investigation into Evers began in 2014 when a Thai child reported abuse to Homeland Security in Bangkok. In April 2015, authorities raided Evers' home and seized computers and files that were heavily encrypted.

Forensic computers in New Orleans and in Washington D.C. were unable to crack the "sophisticated" codes required to access the materials, according to Whitehead.

However, investigators retrieved some files including folders that catalog sets of photos with minors in illicit sexual positions, Whitehead said. These folders were said to be marked by titles with phrases like "FD" for "face down" or "U-wear", which is believed to be "underwear."

Along with seized materials, the prosecution says investigators subpoenaed Google for access to Evers' Gmail account, where they examined Evers' conversations and transactions.

Several excerpts from emails were read aloud in court. Some of those emails, the prosecution said, suggest that Evers' traded pornographic materials with others. In one email that Whitehead read, Evers discussed with another person his sexual interest in two male students.

One day earlier, authorities said that there was no evidence of any local crimes. But the criminal complaint contains an email that Evers wrote in June 2005 where he described his aborted plans for a two-night camp hosted by the local Rotary Club. It was cancelled.

"Alas, no pictures of lads capering about," Evers wrote, according to the complaint. "No overly thorough applications of sunscreen. No tick inspections. No foreskin/zipper disentanglements. So remind me to take SPF45, tweezers, and a zipper with me to Thailand, so I can recreate What Would Have Been."

A longtime Evergreen Rotary Club member who left last year told AL.com on Friday that Evers taught canoeing classes at the wildlife camp held in unincorporated Conecuh County. The Rotary Club sponsored the camp, which was discontinued five years ago.

He said he knew who Evers was, but was nevertheless "shocked at the arrest."

The Conecuh County Sheriff's Office is cooperating with Homeland Security to determine if any local minors have been abused by Evers. Anyone with information pertinent to the investigation is asked to contact either agency.

After the hearing, Knizley downplayed the emails Evers wrote, saying that they were taken out of context.

"He taught students for 15 years and he was a very popular teacher and not one time did anyone ever say that he did anything inappropriate," Knizley said.

As for Evers, he wore an orange jumpsuit to the meeting and was led into the courthouse in handcuffs. On his way out, Evers looked at his parents in the gallery and flashed a peace sign.

Judge takes case of Alabama teacher accused of sex tourism in Thailand under submission | AL.com

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She said he was actively involved with a local Boy Scouts troop

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I fucking bet he was!

Alabama teacher pleads not guilty in Thailand sex tourism case

The Conecuh County teacher accused of traveling to Thailand for illegal sex purposes involving children has pleaded not guilty.

Court records show Clarence Edward Evers Jr. and his retained counsel entered the plea in federal court on Wednesday.

An 11-count indictment handed down last week charges Evers with production of child pornography, transportation of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, access with intent to view child pornography, and possession of child pornography and six counts of traveling with intent to engage in illegal sexual conduct.

Jury selection is scheduled for May 2, according to court records.

Prosecutors argue that Evers has traveled to Thailand multiple times since 2004 to engage in "illicit sexual contact" with boys. His attorney argues the trips were for legitimate purposes.

The criminal complaint describes emails Evers allegedly sent that detail sexual encounters there. A search of his home April 1, 2015 uncovered pornographic images of the defendant and minors, according to the complaint.

Evers was arrested at Hillcrest High School in Evergreen, where he taught information technology classes, on Feb. 11.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Sonja Bivins ruled that Evers will remain incarcerated until trial because he poses a flight risk and a danger to society.

Alabama teacher pleads not guilty in Thailand sex tourism case | AL.com

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A Conecuh County computer teacher bragged in emails

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Apart from all the wrong moral stuff. The above is just plain stupid.

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Clarence Edward Evers Jr.

Exactly, but Ameristani - it fits.^^