A Cambodian court on Friday convicted a German expatriate of sexually abusing five underage boys and sentenced him to one year in prison, according to a verdict pronounced by Judge Heng Sokna.

"The (Phnom Penh Municipal) Court found Udo Sabiniewicz, 56, guilty of conducting indecent acts against minors and sentences him to one year in prison," said the verdict, which also ordered him to pay 1,000 U.S. dollars to each of two plaintiffs.

Sabiniewicz was arrested at his animation video dubbing studio in Phnom Penh in June last year and subsequently charged on multiple counts of indecent acts against minors.

Cambodia launched an anti-pedophile operation in 2003 in a bid to end its reputation as a haven for child sex offenders. Since then, dozens of foreigners have been imprisoned for child sex crimes.