Convicted US paedophile faces new child sex charges in Kenya

A 68-year-old American serial paedophile was arraigned in Mavoko on Tuesday, facing three new cases of defilement, just months after he was released under cloudy circumstances while serving a 50-year sentence.

Terry Ray Krieger, who has been in police custody since November 10, 2023, was brought to court under heavy police security.

Standing in the dock wearing a purple jumper, grey trousers and black trainers, Krieger remained calm as the charges were read out before Mavoko Senior Principal Magistrate Barbra Ojoo. 

Krieger told the magistrate that he did not know why his legal representative was not in court.

He was denied bail, with the magistrate describing him as a flight risk and a fugitive in Kenya.

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"The defendant has a criminal record in America. The current charges carry a sentence of five years imprisonment. I have not been presented with any evidence that the suspect requires special treatment. I decline to grant bail at this time. The mention will be on November 27, 2023 in preparation for a full hearing," the judge ruled.

Krieger first came to light in 2013 when he was arrested by Kenyan authorities for his involvement in a child sex abuse ring.

Kieger, a repeat offender, was sentenced to 50 years in prison by Magistrate Joseph Karanja in December 2014 after pleading guilty to a charge of child pornography.

In 2022, he was quietly released from prison after serving only eight years.

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Krieger had filed an appeal which the then Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji asked the High Court to dismiss.

Through Senior Assistant Prosecutor Duncan Ondimu, the DPP submitted that the evidence presented in court was in no way discredited by the defence and that Krieger readily pleaded guilty.