A pedophile was arrested in Preah Sihanouk province on Wednesday night following a request by the Regional Security Office (RSO), said immigration police.

US national William David Brenner, 63, who is a resident of Houston, Texas, was arrested for “continuous sexual abuse of a child”, according to a letter dated August 23 which the RSO had sent to Interior Minister Sar Kheng.

The US State Department had revoked William’s passport to pave the way for the Cambodian authorities to arrest him for staying illegally in Cambodia.

The RSO said in the request that it would send the suspect back to the US for prosecution.

Ouk Heisela, chief of investigations at the Interior Ministry’s general department of immigration, said on Thursday that William was still being detained for questioning, but he was ill and declined to talk to police.

Heisela said he did not know when William entered Cambodia because he did not have his passport. He said William did not have a clear job in the coastal province.