Australian, 90, Accused of Raping 4 Thai Sisters

A 90-year-old Australian has been arrested and charged with raping four young sisters whom he allegedly lured to his home in Thailand with imported chocolates and English lessons, police said Wednesday.

One girl was 5 when the alleged abuse began. The sisters are now 7 to 15, police said.

Karl Joseph Kraus was arrested Tuesday at his home near the northern city of Chiang Mai, where police confiscated about 100 photographs of the naked children, said Doi Saket police Chief Kritapol Yeesakorn.

Some photos showed Kraus posing naked with other children, and police are trying to identify them and contact with their families, Kritapol said. He said police were investigating if Kraus was in part of a pedophilia network, noting many of the pictures were e-mailed overseas.

Kraus, who has lived in Thailand for more than a decade, approached the girls' family in 2008 with an offer to teach the sisters English, Kritapol said.