3 of 11 abused Mactan children may go home
Three of the 15 children who were rescued last month from a resort where they were used for child pornography can go back to their families.
Lawyer Noemi Truya-Abarientos of the Children’s Legal Bureau said the rest of the child-victims will remain in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Lapu-Lapu City.
“Based on our evaluation, wala na sila’y problema and their parents have been cooperating with us,” she told Cebu Daily News.
She said the other victims will be released in November.
“We’re planning to transfer them to a private center for continuing intervention. But we need the consent of the parents,” Abarientos said.
She admitted that authorities are anxious about sending the victims back to their homes in Lapu-Lapu City amid doubts about the role of parents, some of whom consented to let their kids go with Australian tourist Peter James Robinson, who took naked photos of the minors and sexually abused them.
“We’re afraid of payoffs. They may be offered money so they won’t testify against the accused anymore,” she said.
The lawyer’s statements came as the CLB filed a string of charges against Robinson, and two women who allegedly recruited the children for Robinson, a 50-year-old Australian, who invited 15 kids to a beach resort in Cordova town for the weekend.
Also impleaded in the case was the sister of one of the victims.
Escorted by a policewoman, social workers, and two CLB lawyers, 11 of the child-victims went to the Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office the other day to have their sworn affidavits subscribed.
The two mothers and female sibling who were charged have not yet been arrested.
“These people are not innocent guides. They were actually active players in lewd operations which lasted for two years,” Abarientos told CDN.
She said the three respondents recruited the children for sexual exploitation by Robinson and also posed naked in photos for the Australian.
The three, along with Robinson, were accused of violating Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, Republic Act 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, and qualified trafficking.
The charges are set to be raffled off to a prosecutor on Monday, Aug. 4.
CDN is withholding the names of the respondents to protect the identity of the children, who were rescued last June 24 by the police from Cordova Village Home, the resort where Robinson checked in.
Robinson, an engineer who claimed to have been residing in the Philippines for two years, was arrested by police at a beach resort in Cordova town last June 24.
He is facing trial for qualified trafficking, child abuse, and child pornography.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
