By Nef Luczon | Philippine News Agency
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Iligan City has convicted a man and his female accomplice for sexually exploiting their relatives for online trade.
In a statement on Wednesday (Nov. 24), anti-online sexual exploitation on children watchdog International Justice Mission (IJM) said the RTC Branch 2 found the man guilty of sexually exploiting his sister, who was then 14 years old in July 2021.
The court also convicted the accused for offering his underage female cousin and another female minor for online sexual exploitation.
IJM withheld the name of the man and his accomplice to protect the identity of the victims, and also as part of trial courts’ policy on cases involving minor victims.
Since the accused pleaded guilty to the accusations on a plea bargain hearing on Nov. 18, the court sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment for attempted trafficking under Republic Act (RA) 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.
The accused was also ordered to pay a fine of P500,000 and civil liabilities amounting to P50,000 on the three complainants.
He was also sentenced to serve an additional four to six years in prison for violations of the Anti-Child Abuse Law and the Anti-Child Pornography Act, and ordered to pay combined civil liabilities of P100,000 per complainant.
In the statement, Regional Prosecutor Merlynn B. Uy, head of the Department of Justice (DOJ) 10 (Northern Mindanao) Anti-Trafficking Task Force, said the recent convictions handed down by the court were a welcome development for their campaigns and advocacy.
“This highlights our continuing efforts against online sexual exploitation of children in this region to ensure that vulnerable children and women are freed from this form of sexual exploitation and perpetrators are held accountable for such crimes,” she said.
Lawyer Lucille Dejito, director of the IJM Cebu program office, also said online sexual exploitation of children is a serious crime, and the steep penalties even on plea bargain acknowledge the gravity of the offense.
“We hope that this poses a strong deterrence for criminals from committing this kind of violence against children. Deterrence to criminals means protection of more children from violence,” she said.
Meanwhile, the court sentenced the man’s accomplice to serve two to four years imprisonment and was ordered to pay civil liabilities of P50,000 per complainant for pleading guilty to other offenses under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.
The accomplice was also sentenced to serve additional four years of imprisonment for child abuse and possession of child sexual exploitation materials and to pay a total of P50,000 per complainant for violating RA 7610 or the Anti-Child Abuse Law.
For charges under the Anti-Child Pornography Act, she was sentenced to serve two years, four months, and a day, up to four years and two months.
She was also fined P100,000 and ordered to pay P50,000 per complainant as restitution.
Successful police operation
The IJM said the conviction was the conclusion of the back-to-back rescue operations conducted by the police’s Women and Children Protection Center Mindanao Field Unit (WCPC-MFU) on July 7.
Before the operation, police operatives from WCPC-MFU encountered the male suspect during a routine cyber patrol which led to further investigation and the eventual arrest of the suspect.
The raid resulted in the seizure of electronic devices and money transfer receipts that helped build strong evidence for the prosecution, with the suspect eventually pleading guilty to offenses related to online sexual exploitation.
Col. Christine S. Tan, WCPC-MFU chief and one of the arresting officers, said the conviction of the accused “is an assurance that the wheels of justice are turning.”
“Team WCPC under the leadership of chief Brig. Gen. Alessandro C. Abella rescued the three female minors from online sexual exploitation just this July. Knowing that the suspects are now serving their time behind bars makes all our efforts in the WCPC- MFU worthwhile,” she said.
Tan said the conviction of the two accused may serve as a warning to all the perpetrators of the crimes against vulnerable sectors that they will be charged with their felonies.
To date, the IJM said two of the three survivors are currently safe in a shelter as they continue towards recovery while the remaining survivor has now rejoined her family. (PNA) – bny
