ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — A Canadian wanted on child-sex charges in Thailand and being held in B.C. will be asking to be freed from custody.

Orville Mader made a brief appearance in an Abbotsford, B.C., court via video link today to confirm he has obtained a lawyer and will make a bail application tomorrow.

The 54-year-old Kitchener, Ont., resident, who has a home in the Vancouver area but apparently has lived in Asia for years, is wanted in Thailand on allegations he had sex with an eight-year-old boy.

A federal Justice Department official says the Thai authorities so far have not filed an extradition request.

Mader was arrested last Friday after stepping off a flight at Vancouver International Airport and held under a protective order after a provincial court judge ruled he could present a threat to children.

The Crown said last week Mader can go free if he agrees to conditions that keep him away from places frequented by kids, such as playgrounds, schoolyards and community centres.