An Australian national guilty of trafficking minors will serve a double life sentence plus 20 years and must pay a fine of Php 5 million.
The alien offender was convicted of two counts of qualified trafficking and one count of qualified trafficking in persons, under Republic Act No. 9208, as amended.
In 2014, he was reported for running cybersex operations. He was found to have been luring street children with food into his home, where he coerced them into engaging in sexual acts and displaying their nudity to be recorded and broadcast for online customers. The victims were eventually rescued by the National Bureau of Investigation.
In February this year, he was convicted of rape as defined and penalized under the Revised Penal Code, Article 266-A, and given a life sentence.
Senior Assistant State Prosecutors Jinky Dedumo and Wendell Bendoval won the legal proceedings, a success proclaimed by the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking a “significant victory” in the country’s aggressive confrontation of Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC).
“The country remains steadfast in its commitment to protect its children from exploitation and abuse, sending a powerful message that such crimes will not be tolerated within its borders,” the DOJ said in a statement.
