Man charged with sex tourism led two lives
Computer expert, teacher had prior convictions
Stephane Massinon, Calgary Herald; Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, December 18, 2008
The former Calgary man who is the suspected head of an international sex tourism business out of Thailand led a double life that came crashing down on him when he decided to return to Canada.
In one life, according to his resume, John Charles Wrenshall, 62, was a computer systems business owner who would later dedicate himself to teaching English in Thailand. But in the other, he is accused of sexually exploiting young boys dating back to the early 1970s, was convicted in 1997 of molesting eight choir boys and most recently he is accused of essentially pimping young Thai boys for the pleasure of foreign visitors.
In the late'60s and early '70s, Wrenshall was a University of Calgary sociology student with an interest in the burgeoning world of computers, writing a master's thesis called "Communication Patterns in the Computer Room."
But trouble with the law started even before he published his thesis. In 1970, he was convicted of sexually assaulting boys and was given a suspended sentence and put on probation for two years.
In 1971, he was already at work and founded Socio-Systems Ltd., which he describes as a market research and survey company on his resume. Twelve years later, he founded Rinax Systems Ltd., a Calgary computer systems company that is still in existence.
While his resume says Wrenshall left the company in 1997 -- by then it had grown to 16 staff and revenues of $1.7 million -- to pursue travel opportunities, the reality is he was charged with indecent assaults on choir boys from the Cathedral Church of the Redeemer.
Wrenshall lured eight boys to the university and his Calgary home telling them he was conducting a study on preteen boys' sexuality and they were sexually assaulted. He would later admit to doing the same to at least another dozen boys, but was never charged.
Terry Fullerton, choir director at the church from 1973 to 1995,who now lives in British Columbia, said he doesn't want to say much about Wrenshall for fear of bringing up old wounds, but he remembers that Wrenshall's sentence of one year in jail seemed light.
"You get the judiciary who I think make silly mistakes like that to somebody who obviously wasn't the slightest bit interested in any kind of changing of his behaviour. That's very sad," said Fullerton.
He hasn't seen Wrenshall, nor heard from him, since the day Fullerton told Wrenshall he had to leave the choir immediately. At the time, the tenor singer was unmarried and had no children, recalls Fullerton.
Reached by telephone Wednesday in Washington, Wrenshall's sister also declined to comment.
"I have had no contact with him for years," she said.
Wrenshall left Rinax and headed to Bangkok, Thailand, an area with a reputation for easier access to child prostitution.
Once in Thailand in 1999, he worked at a hospital designing curriculum and course materials, according to his resume, as well as at the AUA Thailand Language Center in Bangkok. He would stay with the AUA until recently.
His former boss at the language centre, director Adul Pinsuvana, said he taught English at the school and then later took on a supervisory role in the adult school.
Computer expert, teacher had prior convictions
Stephane Massinon, Calgary Herald; Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wrenshall describes himself as an excellent teacher and good public speaker. "Dedicated to the needs of my students, I understand the difficulties of learning a foreign language," he writes on his resume. He boasts of having a good knowledge of Thai culture and said his interests include classical and choral music, scuba diving and travel.
But American authorities say Wren-shall wasn't in Thailand too long before he was up to old tricks.
The indictment from a New Jersey grand jury states that Wrenshall was paid by visitors who came to his Bangkokarea home to have sex with young Thai boys. He is also alleged to have produced graphic child pornography.
In October 2008, Wrenshall had had enough of Thailand and informed his boss he would resign in December, saying he wanted to access Canadian pension and health benefits by returning to Canada.
"Foreigners are always like that. They work for a few years and sometimes they leave, sometimes they come back," said Pinsuvana.
His decision to leave was his undoing; he was arrested at London's Heathrow Airport. The U.S. Department of Justice hopes to extradite him from England, and Wrenshall now sits in an English jail waiting to face trial in New Jersey on charges of conspiracy to engage in sex tourism, aiding and abetting sex tourism, conspiracy to produce child pornography. production of child pornography and distribution of child pornography.
witH files from riCHard CutHbertson,
Smassinon@theherald.canwest.com