Sex tourist sentenced to 19 1/2 years

UNION CITY, N.J., Nov. 16 (UPI) -- A New Jersey pedophile was sentenced Monday to 19 1/2 years in prison for having sex with two children under the age of 10 in Thailand, authorities said.

The Union City resident pleaded guilty to his crimes. Wayne Nelson Corliss said he met another pedophile on an Internet chat room, The Star-Ledger reported Monday. That man invited him to Thailand where, he said, Corliss could have sex with a boy for an initial fee of $200 and $20 after that.

Corliss also videotaped one assault which appeared on the Internet, the newspaper said.

Corliss told the court he traveled to Thailand three times between 2000 and 2002. He also admitted having sex with a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old, and testified he had more than 600 computer images of child pornography.

Authorities discovered pictures of Corliss during an investigation of another pedophile on that man's computer. An international manhunt ensued with Corliss arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at his apartment in May 2008, the Star-Ledger reported.

Although his most steady employment was playing Santa Claus and other characters at fairs, corporate gatherings and children's parties, there is no evidence Corliss wronged anyone in New Jersey, authorities said.