A 21-year-old online trafficker pleaded guilty of exposing three minors to cyberpornography before a trial court in Cebu City last March 6. | Photo courtesy of IJM
CEBU CITY, Philippines – A trial court in Cebu City sentenced an online trafficker from Cordova town, Cebu to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty of sexually exploiting minors on the internet.
Joanna (not her real name), who is 21 years old, admitted before Judge Ramon Daomilas Jr. of the Cebu City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 11 that she exposed three female minors to cyberpornography, the International Justice Mission (IJM) said in a statement released today, March 7.
The court also ordered her to pay P500,000 in fines and P100,000 in exemplary damages.
Operatives from the police’s Women and Children Protection Center in Central Visayas (WCPC-7) arrested Joanna in an entrapment operation in April 2018 at her residence in Cordova, which is located on Mactan Island.
At that time, the victims’ ages were 6, 9, and 11, and one of them happened to be her niece.
“She was originally charged with Qualified Trafficking in Persons, which bears the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of not less than P2 million but not more than P5 million,” IJM said.
Lawyer John Tanagho, IJM Cebu Field Office director, expressed elation over the outcome of the trial.
“Once again, the justice system has delivered everything the victims needed— first beginning with the rescue operation that stopped the abuse, then the proper filing of charges, and now this delivery of justice in a way that promotes survivor healing and recovery,” Tanagho said./ elb