Australian man goes on trial in Indonesia in child abuse

BALI, Indonesia – The trial of an Australian man began in Indonesia on Thursday on charges he sexually abused 16 girls on the tourist island of Bali in 2014 and 2015.

Robert Andrew Fiddes Ellis is being tried behind closed doors at Denpasar District Court.

Siti Sapura of the Center for Women and Children Protection and Empowerment said four children aged 8 and 12 and another aged 17 who also acted as intermediary testified Thursday.

“They told the court they were persuaded to come to his house, where he promised to give them bicycles and shirts and feed them,” Sapura said. “At his house, Ellis bathed them and touched their genitals.”

Sapura said the victims were given up to $23 every time he invited them to bathe.

Ellis, 69, who was arrested on Jan. 11, is charged under Indonesia’s Child Protection Law, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail.

His lawyer, Benny Hariyono, denied the girls’ testimonies, arguing that his client just touched their bottoms instead of genitals.