An Australian man has been arrested and charged over child sexual abuse in one of Nepal's most popular tourist spots.

Key points: Thomas Alfred Berryman was living in Nepal for three years before his arrest

Thomas Alfred Berryman was living in Nepal for three years before his arrest Police rescued two boys aged 12 and 14 from his flat as part of the investigation

Police rescued two boys aged 12 and 14 from his flat as part of the investigation Cultural taboos and a lax legal system has made the child sexual abuse rampant in Nepal

Police say 63-year-old Thomas Alfred Berryman has lived in Nepal for 3 years, working as a paragliding pilot for a local company.

He was arrested in his rented flat in the town of Pokhara, 201 kilometres west of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

Police say they rescued two boys aged 12 and 14 from his flat during the operation and will be looking for other victims as part of their investigation.

Pokhara is a hub for adventure sports among visiting tourists.

Child sexual abuse is rampant in Nepal, with the authorities making efforts to tackle the problem by working with civil society groups and aid organisations.

Between 2016 and 2018, just 10 foreign nationals were arrested for child sexual abuse, according to Nepalese government data.

Lax legal frameworks and law enforcement as well as reluctance to talk about child sexual exploitation in Nepal have been blamed for the lack of prosecutions.

Several high-profile cases of foreign sex offenders being caught and punished have required the involvement of overseas agencies and police forces.

In 2010, Australian Federal Police charged Australian man Geoffrey John Prigge for child sex offences in Nepal, under laws that allow overseas child sex-tourism offences to be prosecuted in Australia.

Earlier this year a former United Nations employee, Canadian Peter Dalglish, was sentenced to 9 years in jail and fined more that $10,000 by a Nepalese court for sexually abusing boys in Nepal.