Australian man held in Nepal over child abuse, boys found in apartment

A 63-year-old Australian man has been arrested in Nepal for allegedly sexually abusing children in the country's tourist hub, officials say.

A special police unit raided the man's apartment in Pokhara, a tourist town in the country's mid-west, early on Tuesday and found two boys aged 12 and 14, Dipak Regmi, a police spokesman, said.

The Australian had been living in Nepal for the past three years, he added.

Tuesday's arrest was part of a crackdown on foreigners suspected of pedophilia.

A Canadian former United Nations worker was handed a nine-year jail sentence by a district court in central Nepal early this month.

At least 12 foreigners have been arrested on suspicion of abusing children in the past three years, according to the police officer.

A 50-year-old British man was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing children in Kathmandu in January.

Two Frenchmen were arrested for abusing children on the outskirts of Kathmandu in July last year.

In impoverished Nepal, most victims of child abuse are lured by promises of education and jobs, but end up being sexually abused, according to child rights groups.

Under Nepalese law, a conviction for pedophilia carries a sentence of up to 15 years.