A 54-year-old mother, whom authorities arrested during the first cyberpornography raid in Mandaue City, is detained at the Mandaue City Police Station 1 in Barangay Centro.
CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON
cyberpornography in Mandaue
Authorities rescued a 15-year-old girl in Barangay Opao in Mandaue City from her 54-year-old mother, who allegedly exploited the teenager to do a sex show for foreigners online in exchange for money.
It was the first cyberpornography raid in Mandaue City this year, said Mandaue City Mayor Gabriel Luis “Luigi” Quisumbing.
The teenager was caught doing an online live sex show to a foreigner in exchange for money during an entrapment operation last Saturday involving police from Australia; Anti-Cybercrime Group in Central Visayas (ACG-7), a unit of the Philippine National Police in Central Visayas; Mandaue City Police; and the International Justice Mission (IJM).
An IJM statement said that the mother was caught redhanded as she facilitated the live streaming of her daughter doing a sex show to a foreigner in exchange for cash.
Unknown to the mother, the foreigner client watching the sex show was an Australian police officer posing as the mother’s online client, said lawyer John Tanagho, IJM Cebu Field Office Director.
And while the daughter was allegedly performing her online sex show with the mother in the room, the authorities in Mandaue swooped into the house and caught them doing the illegal act redhanded.
The teenager was turned over to the Department of Services and Welfare Development in Central Visayas while the mother was detained at the Mandaue Police Station pending the filing of charges.
However, the mother denied the allegations.
She said that she was with her daughter in the house because she wanted her to help her clean the house.
Australian police info
But according to the IJM statement, the police said the ACG-7 received a referral from the Australian Federal Police that the mother had been “repeatedly sexually exploiting her two daughters online” by sending explicit images to an Australian national in exchange for money.
“Because of coordinated police intervention by ACG, Queensland Police and the Australian Federal police, (the) young girl is now safe from her nightmare of abuse,” saidTanagho, referring to the 15-year-old girl.
However, the other daughter the Australian police were referring to was the 25-year-old sister of the 15-year-old girl.
Aussie convict, boyfriend
Tanagho said that foreigners who purchase child exploitative images create the demand for the sexual abuse of “poor Filipino children.”
According to the report from the Queensland Police’s Task Force Argos, the suspect began sending “sexually explicit images” of her daughter when the girl was only 10 years old.
The mother was said to be sending the images to Stephen James Sheriff.
IJM says that Sheriff was convicted for soliciting and accessing child exploitative images.
The mother admitted to Cebu Daily News that she knew Sheriff since 2012.
But she vehemently denied that she exploited her daughters saying that Sheriff is the boyfriend of her 25-year-old daughter.
“Wala ko magpadala ana mga butanga niya. Ang among ipdala niya nga pictures kay kanang mga naa mi okasiyon. Kay nagsuporta man sad na siya sa akong anak nga iyahang uyab (I never sent him explicit images. What we sent him were those pictures where we have family occasions at home. These were sent because he financially supported my elder daughter, who is his girlfriend),” the mother said.
She also claimed that the money the Australian gave them is not payment for the images but as a gift for supporting them.
The mother is now detained in Mandaue Police Station 1 while the teenager is now under the custody of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Complaints under Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-trafficking in Persons Act, RA 9975 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act in relation to RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act, and RA 7610 or Child Protection Act are being prepared against the suspect.
Following the incident, Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing said that he ordered barangay officials and the police to intensify their vigilance against these kinds of crimes.
Quisumbing also encouraged the public to help authorities in stopping these online illegal activities.
“(It is) important to the community to come forward with information. I will study whether we can offer a reward for information leading to an arrest,” Quisumbing told CDN.
Quisumbing said that cyberpornography is always a concern especially with the city’s population density.
He said this is the reason for seeking the public’s help in curbing these kinds of crimes.
That is why he asked the community to be involved as it plays a critical and vital role in fighting against these crimes.
“Thankful to Australian Police and IJM for tipping off MCPO,” Quisumbing added.