CEBU, Philippines — A German national who sexually abused two female minors in 2011 will spend the rest of his life in jail.
Thomas Michael Ruhland, a notorious child trafficker, was meted a life imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of P2 million for qualified trafficking.
He was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt by the Regional Trial Court in Cebu City for molesting two girls, then 14-year-old, by taking nude and obscene pictures of them.
"AAA's (private complainant) testimony deserves credence. She has absolutely no ill motive to incriminate and testify against the accused. She remembered where she was then, what she was doing and how she ended up being abused by the accused inside the hotel," read the 20-page decision penned by Branch 24 Judge Jose Nathaniel Andal.
The private complainant, Andal said, was consistent with her testimonies during direct and cross-examinations.
The testimonies of "AAA" were corroborated by "BBB," who was also rescued from Ruhland.
Ruhland was arrested in an entrapment operation in a motel in Talisay City on February 2, 2011.
Authorities said Ruhland was the "biggest source of cyber-pornography" in Europe and the United States and is wanted in many countries.
Ruhland reportedly sold nude photos of children and selling them from $17 to $70 dollars per photo. The rate depends also on how lewd the act is.
Aside from the qualified trafficking, Ruhland was also convicted of child abuse for sexually abusing "AAA" on January 19, 2011.
Ruhland was sentenced to suffer a penalty of 10 years to 20 years imprisonment for child abuse and ordered to pay "AAA" P180,000 for damages.
Ruhland was also ordered to pay the complainants P150,000 each for moral and exemplary damages.
Warning
On the other hand, Children's Legal Bureau (CLB) Litigation and Advocacy Coordinator Lawyer Noemi Truya-Abarientos, who helped in the prosecution of the case, said Ruhland's conviction should serve as a warning to those who have intentions of exploiting children.
"We now have a series of conviction of foreigners who sexually exploit our children. We hope that this conviction will send a strong message to those who come to the country with the intention of exploiting the poverty of our children that they will be punished," she said.
"Justice is served to his victims. While we only have 2 minor complainants in this case, we do not know exactly how many more he victimized prior to his arrest more than 7 years ago. (And note, we have been receiving reports that he could still operate while in jail because he has internet access," she added.
Last year, Ruhland was discovered communicating with his country's social welfare officer even behind bars.
He is detained at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City.
Former CPDRC jail warden Dr. Gil Macato earlier said Ruhland used the jail's public cellular phone to communicate with people outside the facility based on the result of their investigation.
Charges
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police's Women and Children Protection Center-Visayas Field Unit (WCPC-VFU) filed 40 counts of qualified trafficking in persons, child abuse, and sexual assault against seven suspected online traffickers before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor's Office last Thursday.
The suspects (names withheld) are all females who are residents of Cordova town, Cebu.
They are reportedly cohorts of a 58-year-old Swedish national Bengt Kristofferson, who was convicted in 2013 for possession of child pornography, conspiracy to rape children and incitement to commit aggravated rape.
The accused is currently serving his four to five years sentence in Sweden.
Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane, Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT-) head, said Kristofferson contacted these female suspects to recruit and abuse children.
The suspects received money from Kristofferson for forcing children to perform appalling sexual acts and torturing them while taking videos of the ordeal.
"He offered to these women more money if the child was exposed to even graver pain while being abused. In most cases, these facilitators, unfortunately were related to the children or these victims, family members and close neighbors," said Gubalane.
At least six minors were rescued from the suspects in 2009 and 2010.
Senior Superintendent Romeo Perigo, chief of the Women's and Children's Protection Center (WCPC), said all seven suspects are still at large.
"We will keep on monitoring and tracking down these suspects," he said.
Cordova Mayor Therese Cho has also directed all barangay officials to help monitor the suspects. — Le Phyllis F. Antojado /KBQ (FREEMAN)