News: Australian man charged with sexually abusing twins born via Thai surrogate.

An Australian man aged in his 50s has reportedly been charged with sexually abusing the twins he fathered through a Thai surrogate.

The twins were allegedly less than 10 years old at the time of the abuse.

The ABC reports there are now efforts underway to return the children to their biological mother in Thailand.

The NSW man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has also been charged with possessing child abuse material but has denied all allegations.

He’ll appear in court in December.

This from the ABC exclusive by Samantha Hawley:

The man, who cannot be identified, has been charged with indecent dealings of a sexual nature with the children while they were under 10.

Court documents reveal he has also been charged with possessing child abuse material which was found after a raid on his home.

The twins’ surrogate mother, 31-year-old Siriwan Nitichad (Aon), who was also the egg donor, spoke to the ABC in the wake of the charges.  

Nitichad said she agreed to give her own eggs to the married couple because the man’s wife was “quite old already”.

“I feel terrible I feel very bad,” surrogate mother Siriwan Nitichad said.

“When they wanted to have a baby they said they would love them and take care of them,” she said.

“I thought she really could not [use her own eggs] because I saw she was quite old already… They must be really having problems and really could not find anyone else.”

“I knew only, when they came to talk to us they wanted to have a baby, will love them, will take the best care for them – I felt bad.”

Aon was paid around $5,500AUD but no additional money for the use of her eggs.

After she gave birth to twins several years ago, she was “worried” about giving them up at four or five months old.

“After the birth the babies were not so strong… They were checked on many things, they had lung problems,” she told the ABC.

“When it was time to give them up, I actually did not want to because I was worried… They were so lovely, I wanted them to stay with me, I did not want to let them go.

“If they asked if they could cancel their payment and we kept the babies, I would definitely have said yes.”

The ABC reports that once the couple took the twins back to Australia, the father became unemployed and had a violent temper. The marriage reportedly broke down and the children began suffering night tremors and wetting the bed.

Authorities charged the father with indecent dealings with the children last year.

The twins are currently living with the ex-wife of the accused man and according to the ABC, there is some belief that the twins should be reunited with Siriwan Nitichad.

But here has been some concern about this idea from child welfare groups in Thailand who say the transition for the twins – who don’t speak any Thai – could be difficult.

Australian child welfare authorities are currently working on longer-term plans for their care, the ABC reports.

The tragic news comes in the wake of the story of Baby Gammy – a 7-month-old baby boy with Down syndrome who was abandoned in Thailand by his biological parents.

Gammy’s biological father David Farnell was later reported to be a convicted pedophile who had previously abused at least three young girls.

The West Australian man was jailed in the late 1990s for sexually molesting two girls under 10.

He was sentenced to three years in prison — and, while serving that sentenced, he was charged with six further counts of indecently dealing with a child under the age of 13.

At present, no laws exist in West Australia to stop sex offenders from entering into overseas surrogacy arrangements.

The story of Baby Gammy led to a crackdown on surrogacy in Thailand by the government.

The move created uncertainty for around 200 Australian couples with surrogacy arrangements in Thailand, some of whom were trapped in the South Asian country for weeks longer than they expected to be.

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