Canadian Man Arrested in Thailand Over Alleged Rape of British Backpacker
Police apprehended a 37-year-old suspect shortly before his planned departure to China, following accusations from a 23-year-old tourist.
Thai police have arrested a Canadian national in connection with the alleged rape of a 23-year-old British backpacker in Chiang Mai. The suspect, identified as 37-year-old Aldo Guiovanni Ochoa Saenz from Richmond, British Columbia, was apprehended on September 23, just hours before he was scheduled to fly to China.
According to police reports, Ochoa Saenz had been drinking and socializing with the British tourist and other foreigners at a karaoke bar on September 13. Later that night, the pair allegedly separated from the larger group, and Ochoa Saenz is accused of taking the woman to his condominium where he assaulted her while she was intoxicated.
The alleged victim told authorities that she awoke the next morning naked in bed and in a state of shock. She subsequently reported the incident to the Mae Ping district police station.
Police gathered evidence and obtained an arrest warrant from the Chiang Mai Provincial Court on suspicion of rape. Footage released by police shows officers raiding Ochoa Saenz's hotel room at the Pleasant Condominium. During the raid, his phone was seized, and travel details suggesting an imminent departure from Thailand were reportedly discovered.
Police Colonel Yanaphon Phatthanachai, superintendent of the Mae Ping station, stated that the arrest warrant was based on the alleged victim's testimony and preliminary physical examination results indicating sexual intercourse had occurred. "We are preparing charges of rape and sexual assault, as the victim claims she was unable to resist," Phatthanachai said.
However, Police Lieutenant Colonel Danai Lamliangphon indicated that Ochoa Saenz has denied the allegations, asserting that the encounter was consensual. He told police that he and the British woman had been drinking together with a group of seven people from various nationalities, including from the Philippines, the UK, and the USA. The suspect denied the victim's suggestion that his drink might have been drugged, which she believed contributed to her rapid intoxication. Medical examination results did not detect any drugs, but did find traces of semen.
Ochoa Saenz is currently in police custody pending further legal proceedings.