Maurice Van Ryn: Former Bega Cheese executive donated money to help build Thai foster home after tsunami
Disgraced former Bega Cheese CEO Maurice Van Ryn made regular trips to Phuket so he could spend time with his “beach boys” after the 2004 tsunami, a special investigation has revealed.
The South Coast News
Don't miss out on the headlines from The South Coast News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Confessed paedophile and former dairy executive Maurice Van Ryn donated money to help build a large foster home for children left without family in the Thai resort city of Phuket, while also spending as much time as he could with “street boys”, a former friend has revealed.
The 64-year-old is listed as a private donor, through the Lions Club Of Phuket Andaman Sea, of the Phuket Sunshine Village project, built to accommodate up to 100 orphaned children in need.
One of the project’s main objectives, listed on its website, is to protect Phuket’s children “from body, mind and sexual abuse”.
It is unknown how much money Van Ryn donated to help get the project off the ground in its initial stages.
A former friend of Van Ryn who holidayed at Phuket with him during the time of his offending in Australia, said he would spend as much time around children as possible while at the resort city.
The former friend, who did not want to be named, said Van Ryn would spend his daylight “leisure” hours at the rear of The Bay and Beach Club at Patong, inside one of the many tourist hotels of Phuket.
Despite owning a villa, he claims Van Ryn would “pay off” security guards at the hotel to get him and his guests to use the swimming pool at the rear of the hotel overlooking the beach.
He said Van Ryn enjoyed being close to the nearby cabanas, selling alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to beachgoers, run by teenage boys he referred to as “his beach boys”.
“When I say Van Ryn spent the majority of the time with these boys, I mean to the point where he spent little to no time with the other adults in our holiday party,” the former friend said.
The former executive of blue chip dairy processor Bega Cheese, is currently behind bars after being sentenced in 2016 to 18 years in prison for sexually abusing ten boys and girls between the ages of eight and 15 on the south coast of NSW between 2003 and 2014. He will be eligible for parole in 2029.
The court heard Van Ryn used ”computer games and alcohol” to gain access to his victims, and had sexual intercourse with one boy in his motel room after taking him to Canberra to watch a game of rugby in the company’s Bruce Stadium corporate box.
During his trial Van Ryn admitted to having sexual thoughts about children every day throughout his adult life.
He told the court he had struggled since his teenage years with his “urge to touch” children.
More than 1500 people were killed at the popular tourist town of Phuket when a tsunami, created by an earthquake hundreds of miles away in the Indian Ocean destroyed everything in its path.
The Thai Ministry of Social Development and Human Security estimated the devastating tsunami orphaned at least 300 children.
Both the Lions Club Of Phuket Andaman Sea and the Phuket Sunshine Village were contacted for this story but did not respond.
In 2005, Van Ryn stepped down as the CEO of Bega Cheese and was appointed international business manager, remaining on the senior executive team and purchasing a large villa in Phuket, a place that would become like a second home to the child predator.
His new role would allow him more opportunities to travel overseas and spend time in Phuket.
Bega Cheese executive Barry Irvin said at the time of Van Ryn’s arrest he was “shocked” someone he considered a friend, and had been the force behind the meteoric rise of the company, had committed such heinous crimes while working for the company.
Thirty year veteran advocate for victims of crime, Howard Brown, who worked closely with many of Van Ryn’s victims, said there was an “extremely remote” chance he did not offend during his time in Thailand.
Mr Brown said Australian paedophiles overseas can donate money to charities or become involved with at risk children overseas as a means of “grooming” both adults and children to help “ingratiate” themselves to facilitate potential future offending.
During his sentencing, the court heard Van Ryn groomed not only his victims but also their parents, allowing him to be alone with children.
“Grooming always has an endpoint,” Mr Brown said.
“There’s a reason for grooming someone and it’s not so the person in the end says ‘thank you’. It’s so they feel indebted to you.
“It is a real form of emotional blackmail, and it makes people less likely to complain.
“There’s a level of power gained, because you can’t say no to someone like that.”
Mr Brown said Van Ryn, despite pleading guilty to his Australian victims, showed throughout his sentencing he did not fully understand his attraction to children was wrong.
“People like this think what they are doing is out of love to make it seem okay, but it’s terrifying for victims,” he said.
“They can excuse in their mind the harm they are doing to the victim. These offenders don’t understand what they’re doing.
“They just can’t make that differentiation to realise nobody wants to be treated like that.
“While we might be swimming in the hotel pool or having a drink at the bar, he remained with these young boys.
“He was seen to be very generous with money towards these boys. His explanation to me was that he was paying for their drinks, as they had to account for all the supplies and monies received to someone else higher up the chain.
“It was apparent these young boys were street kids who had found their way to Patong Beach as a way of survival.”
The Australian Federal Police would not confirm whether they have investigated Van Ryn’s behaviour while he was in Thailand.
“The AFP does not confirm who it may or may not be investigating,” an AFP spokeswoman said.
Between July 2016 and December 2020, the AFP charged 42 people with 457 offences relating to child sexual assault and child abuse material committed outside Australia.
“Protecting children from sexual abuse is a key priority for the Australian Federal Police. These complex and borderless crimes require a concerted international effort,” the spokeswoman said.
“The AFP has officers positioned at different international posts who play an integral role in the AFP’s response to this crime type, working with the AFP’s international law enforcement and non-government organisations partners to promote awareness of the issue of child sexual exploitation, supporting international investigations, developing capacity and providing training.
“The AFP shares information, via notifications, about travelling child sex offenders with foreign partners/destination countries, and through its international network.
“The AFP has a very good working relationship with authorities in South East Asia, both through our international operations senior officers and members of our child protection operations.”
While he is due for release in 2029, Mr Brown said Van Ryn will find it difficult to travel due to being placed on the National Public Register of Child Sex Offenders for life.
Since 2017, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has cancelled 306 Australian passports held by registered child sex offenders, ordered the surrender of 11 foreign travel documents and received 3475 requests from authorities to deny passports to other offenders who don’t currently hold one. Thirty five of these applicants have been refused passports.
The legislation also makes it a Commonwealth offence for reportable offenders to attempt to leave Australia without permission from a competent authority, even if they have a valid passport.
Offenders who attempt to leave the country are stopped at the border and liable to prosecution. The maximum penalty is five years in prison.
“He’s going to have a huge problem, because the chances of Van Ryn getting to Thailand is very slim because of the relationship Australia now has with Thai authorities,” Mr Brown said.
WE’RE STILL HERE FOR YOU
For trusted news that matters, and to support local journalism, go straight to the source:
Visit and bookmark The South Coast News homepage and hit ‘follow’.
For local news, go to thesouthcoastnews.com.au You can follow us on twitter at https://twitter.com/TheSthCoastNews, Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thesouthcoastnews/.
You can also get your news delivered straight into your inbox by subscribing to our online newsletter here (search for The South Coast News). Link is here: https://www.newsletters.news.com.au/dailytelegraph
South Coast sale and auction results, week ending May 10
South Coast recorded 14 property sales over a million dollars last week, the latest auction and sales results reveal.
Read more
Man charged after serious South Coast crash
A man has been charged after a serious crash on the state’s south coast last year, which resulted in three people being hospitalised. Here’s what we know.
Read more