Bali, Indonesia - A court in Indonesia's resort island of Bali on Thursday sentenced an Australian man to eight years in prison for having sex with boys.

The court in Buleleng district found Philip Robert Grandfield, 62, guilty of having sexual contact with five boys aged between 15 and 17 last year.

Grandfield said he was relieved by the verdict but nevertheless would appeal.

"I thought I might be sentenced to death," he said.

Grandfield had argued in court that the boys had voluntarily engaged in sexual contact with him and he did not realize they were underage.

Prosecutors had sought a 12-year sentence for the former accountant.

Grandfield is one of several Australians to have been arrested in Indonesia in recent years for pedophilia.

Child rights activists said Australian pedophile rings had infiltrated Bali and were using the pretense of adopting or fostering poverty-stricken children to abuse them.

They said Australians were also involved in the trafficking of Indonesian children for sex to foreign countries, including Australia.

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has warned that sexual exploitation and trafficking of children are growing problems in Bali, with many young sex workers found in the streets, clubs and hotels. (dpa)