The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) apprehended a U.S. citizen and a Filipina in connection with alleged Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Material (CSAEM) offenses.
Operatives from the NBI-Violence Against Women and Children Division (VAWCD) responded to a referral from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, HSI Manila, regarding a U.S. citizen in Pampanga suspected of exploiting minors for sexual purposes.
The joint investigation by HSI and NBI uncovered multiple photos and videos containing child sexual abuse and exploitation materials (CSAEM) on the phone of the foreign national.
HSI Florida also received a Cyber Tip Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) revealing that the suspect's phone contained explicit images and videos of minors.
In September of last year, the 19th Judicial Circuit in Indian River County, Florida, issued an arrest warrant for the foreign national on 55 counts of CSAEM possession.
Coordination with the Bureau of Immigration's Fugitive Search Unit (BI-FSU) was made to apprehend the suspect if he tried to exit the country and to execute the arrest based on the U.S. warrant.
On October 16, the NBI-VAWCD received information that the foreign national was set to depart the Philippines via Clark International Airport.
In coordination with US-HSI, PNP-AVSEU, BCIU-CIA, and NBI-Pampanga District Office (PAMDO), an enforcement operation was carried out at the airport, leading to his arrest.
He was subjected to an inquest by the Bureau of Immigration for violating immigration laws and is currently awaiting deportation after being declared an undesirable alien.
Further investigation was launched following his arrest to identify the adult female and three minor children featured in the pornographic materials alongside him.
It was then revealed that a Filipina subject was sending the CSAEMs to the foreign national
NBI Agents communicated with her using an undercover account, in the course of their continuous communication, she offered her minor children for sexually explicit live shows.
On February 11, NBI agents, alongside HSI Manila representatives, went to Bamban, Tarlac to execute the Warrant to Search, Seize, and Examine Computer Data (WSSECD) issued by the Regional Trial Court of Capas, Tarlac.
Moreover, the cellular phone used by the suspect was seized, and she was placed under arrest for offering and selling sexually explicit live online shows of minor children. Three minors were rescued during the operation.
The Filipina suspect is expected to face charges for violations of the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) Act, the Anti-Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 as amended by R.A. 10364 (Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012), the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022, and the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.
