NEWARK — from www.nj.com – A convicted sex offender pleaded not guilty today in federal court in Newark to running a brothel in Thailand that authorities say catered to American tourists looking for sex with young boys.

John Wrenshall appeared shackled for a brief hearing before U.S. District Judge Joseph A. Greenaway Jr., who ordered him to remain in prison without bail.

The 62-year-old Canadian citizen was arrested in December at London’s Heathrow Airport after being indicted by a federal grand jury in Newark. After months of fighting extradition, Wrenshall arrived last month in New Jersey to face prosecution.

Wrenshall drew the attention of federal investigators in New Jersey after a Union City man, Wayne Nelson Corliss, [pictured] was arrested in 2008 for traveling to the brothel, where some victims were as young as 6, authorities said.

Corliss, a small-time movie actor who also portrayed Santa Claus at kids’ parties and fairs, admitted in October to visiting Thailand three times between 2000 and 2002 to have sex with two boys, ages 6 and 9.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 21 and faces up to 27 years and three months in prison under the terms of his plea agreement. Federal judges, however, are not bound by plea deals and have wide discretion when imposing sentence.

Officials estimate thousands of men visit Southeast Asia each year to have sex with children. Wrenshall began inviting Corliss and other Americans to his home near Bangkok, Thailand, as early as January 2000, authorities said.

Wrenshall, founder of the Canadian software firm Rinax Systems, was convicted in 1997 of sexually assaulting eight choir boys in Calgary.

The 18-count indictment he faces in New Jersey accuses him of an array of charges, including aiding and abetting sex tourism and producing child pornography.

If convicted, he faces up to life in prison, said Lee David Vartan, an assistant U.S. attorney who is prosecuting the case.