16 abused children rescued in the Philippines after Aussie police sends tip
MANILA, Philippines — Sixteen abused children were rescued by the police last week following the arrest of an Australian man allegedly engaging in transactions to sexually exploit minors in the Philippines.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) retrieved the children in Taguig and Nueva Vizcaya in June acting on multiple warrants, with the youngest victim only 10 years old, according to a joint press release by the PNP and the Australian Federal Police.
The PNP’s rescue operation involving 16 minors is “believed to be the most child abuse victims rescued at one time” in a cross-border effort involving Australian authorities, the joint release added.
This came after the Australian police notified Philippine officials of their arrest of a 56-year-old man who arrived from the Philippines and was found to have child abuse material on his phone, including "messages detailing his intent to pay a facilitator who would enable him to sexually abuse children.”
The man was later charged with three offenses, and intelligence gathered by Australian police was forwarded for investigation to the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre (PICACC).
“This resulted in further investigations by the PNP, with the support of the AFP and other PICACC members,” the joint release added.
The 16 children are now under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, but there could be other abused children yet to be located. The PNP said that its investigations are ongoing to “find other children allegedly identified during the investigation.”
AFP Senior Officer in Manila and Detective Superintendent Andrew Perkins said the Australian police “worked tirelessly with partners in Australia and internationally, to detect and disrupt anyone involved in the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.”
The joint operation highlights the need for cross-border sharing of intelligence and resources among countries, “because predators are not confined by borders,” Perkins said.
“However, these children’s lives have been irrecoverably damaged and we know there are too many other children still at risk,” he added.
From 2021 to 2022, a staggering 72% of all child abuse cases on average involved sexual abuse or assault, according to data collected by the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) in government hospitals.
Around 6,600 children were sexually abused in 2022, according to the CWC.
The US State Department's assessment of the Philippines' protection of children's rights in 2022 found that the country has inadequate prosecutorial and technological resources to catch persons engaged in the sexual exploitation of minors.
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