Woman from Lapu-Lapu City convicted for online sexual exploitation of children
CEBU CITY, Philippines- A woman from Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of trafficking offenses, specifically for engaging in online sexual exploitation of children.
Violation of Republic Act 9208, which criminalizes human trafficking, is also punishable by a P500,000 fine.
According to the International Justice Mission (IJM), the suspect, whose name is withheld to protect the identities of victims who may be related to her, was sentenced by a Trial Court in Lapu-Lapu City on May 12, 2022 after she agreed to a plea bargain on accusations that she abused minors in exchange for money.
The female suspect in Lapu Lapu City is one of the six traffickers from all over the country who, according to the IJM, were convicted for trafficking in less than a month this year, between the months of April and May.
Three of the convictions—those of one male and two female traffickers—were handed down in Ozamis City on April 19 and 25, respectively.
On May 16, two other female traffickers were convicted in separate cases in Capas, Tarlac.
“In the Lapu-Lapu conviction, Prosecutor James Lobedica said the conviction send a strong message that crime does not pay. Perpetrators will at some point have to face the consequences of their crime. Rule of law dictates that they should be penalized,” reads a portion of the IJM statement.
While Region 7 Regional Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane said that the conviction by plea bargaining is not just to hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes but also a tool to prevent children who have already been abused from a possibility of being “retraumatized by the rigors of trial.”
IJM said that in online sexual exploitation of children, children are sexually abused by traffickers who then spread or sell images or videos of the exploitation online—even live streaming the abuse for sex offenders from anywhere in the world.
Local offenders are charged with violating the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (Republic Act 9208 as amended by Republic Act 10364), the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 (Republic Act 9775), the Anti-Child Abuse Law (Republic Act 7610), and the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. (Republic Act 10175).
/bmjo
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Woman from Lapu-Lapu gets 15 years for online exploitation of niece
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