Danny Pope Arrested After Giving Underage Girl Money At Child Sex Brothel

A North Carolina resident was arrested on Monday in Cambodia after officials deemed he was engaging in illegal activity with underage children at a child sex brothel. Danny Pope was caught in the capital city Phnom Penh when the brothel was raided on Saturday. He was in a private room.

Both Pope and the brothel had been monitored for a couple of days prior to the raid. The 59-year-old told officials he only gave one of the five prostitutes taken into custody, three of whom were minors, money “for food and clothes.” He gave one of the girls $100 a month.

Via the Daily Mail, a spokesman for the Anti-Human Trafficking and Minor Protection Office said in a statement that Pope was facing charges of “rape, aggravating circumstances and soliciting child prostitution.”

Sex tourism is a major industry in Cambodia. By one estimate, a quarter of all the foreign visitors to Cambodia in the early 2000s were sex tourists. A 2017 report from ABC News called the country a "sordid world where sex is the hot commodity and children are still used as currency."

Outside the brothel Pope was caught at, there is a sign stating they offer massages and are open 24-hours-a-day. As of Monday, Pope remains in custody as his case is being prepared for prosecutors.