ILOILO CITY–An Australian national and his Ilonggo partner were arrested Saturday due to cybersex crime.
John Loffler, 69, and Gladys Degala, 21, are now detained at Pavia Municipal Police Station, said Senior Supt. Marlon Tayaba, director of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO), in an interview.
The two suspects were arrested after elements of IPPO, the Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking, the Women and Children Protection Center in Visayas and the Pavia Municipal Police Station served a search warrant against the suspects at their house in a subdivision in Ungka 2 village, Pavia,Iloilo.
Tayaba said no victim was found during the implementation of the search warrant.
But he said that they have recovered three laptops, four cellphones, an I-pad, identification cards and other computer storage devices.
“We will use these as evidences for the cases that will be filed against them,” he said.
Tayaba said they have been monitoring the illegal activity of the two suspects after they received reports from some informants.
They have confirmed their illegal activity after they used a police decoy to transact with the suspects online.
Tayaba said Loffler came to Iloilo City sometime in 2015 and started his illegal business on cyber pornography with his partner.
Tayaba said that the suspects are engaged in recruiting minors and encouraging them to have their naked photos taken.
“Then they will send it to their clients who are also foreigners,” he said.
Citing their initial interview with Loffler, Tayaba said that the suspect claimed that they have already victimized about 10 female minors, aged 13-16.
Tayaba said the suspects will be charged with violation of the Cyber Crime Prevention Act. (Cindy Ferrer/PNA)
