US-Vietnam cooperation leads to child sex tourism indictment in California

A U.S. federal grand jury charged Paul Marshall Bodner, 64, of San Francisco, California, with repeatedly traveling to Vietnam in order to engage in illicit sexual conduct, US Embassy in Hanoi announced in a press release on February 21.

The indictment was filed on January 30 following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in partnership with Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security.

According to the indictment unsealed on February 13, Bodner allegedly traveled to Vietnam multiple times during the period from July 2015 through August 2016 for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. 

“U.S. law enforcement agencies, in collaboration with foreign law enforcement partners around the world, work tirelessly to protect children and to bring their abusers to justice. In this instance, strong collaboration between the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security have brought multiple child victims one step nearer to finding closure,” said U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink. 

“This arrest also underscores how the United States and Vietnam can work together effectively to combat child exploitation.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  

Anyone with information about Bodner or his alleged sexual interest in children should contact the HSI Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE and ask to be directed to the case agent.  Tips may also be submitted online.

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