2 child traffickers get 4 years in jail

CEBU, Philippines — Two women from Talisay City were each sentenced to over four years in prison after pleading guilty to accessing child sexual exploitation materials under plea bargaining agreements.

Cebu City Regional Trial Court Branch 11 Judge Ramon Daomilas, Jr., in a decision dated February 21, handed down sentences to the two accused after they plead guilty to charges under Republic Act 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act.

The offenders, aged 33 and 23, are also facing other charges for qualified trafficking in persons before the Regional Trial Court in Talisay City.

The International Justice Mission (IJM), in a press release, said both suspects remain in custody as they are on trial for other charges, including for trafficking children for the purpose of online sexual exploitation.

If convicted after a full trial, IJM said, the suspects will face life sentences.

The separate cases filed against the two women stemmed from operations made by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit in Central Visayas (RACU-7) in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

IJM said the 23-year-old offender was arrested in an operation in Barangay Dumlog, Talisay City on October 27, 2017.

During the operation, policemen rescued a 17-year-old girl and an adult. Both were sisters of the accused.

On the other hand, the 33-year-old suspect was arrested in Barangay Cansojong, Talisay City on June 15, 2018.

During that operation, eight minors aged 3 to 17 were rescued and turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development-7 for assessment and rehabilitation.

When laws are enforced, IJM-CFO Director John Tanagho said, the abuse of vulnerable children is reduced as “impunity is replaced with accountability.”

“Whenever the justice system holds accountable people who sexually abuse and exploit children, it actually prevents the abuse of other children by restraining those offenders and deterring other criminals,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) and IJM will hold a conference in Manila on March 16 and 17.

The conference is dubbed as “Global Resolve Against Online Sexual Exploitation of Children.”

This conference aims to strengthen the global community’s response to online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC), the most urgent form of child sexual exploitation. It will assemble key stakeholders from around the world to learn about OSEC, and the Philippine government’s response to the crime.

The conference also presents participants the opportunity to network with others from across a wide range of sectors, such as government, law enforcement, non-government organizations, and corporations, among others.

So far in IJM-supported cases, more than 80 persons have been convicted in the Philippines for OSEC since 2011.

IJM has supported Philippine law enforcement agencies in operations that led to the arrest of more than 200 OSEC perpetrators and the rescue of almost 600 victims and children-at-risk across the country.   KQD (FREEMAN)