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Thursday, March 04, 2004
Australian nabbed for ‘fondling’ minors
By Minerva B. Gerodias
AN AUSTRALIAN national was arrested for acts of lasciviousness after holding an “aura development” session with two girls.
The session was meant for the minors to “overcome their shyness,” explained the Australian (not an American national, as earlier reported).
Peter Webster from Tasmania, Australia denied the allegations, saying there were no acts of lasciviousness when he conducted the sessions.
“The girls were fully dressed and there was no touching of private parts and there was no kissing during the sessions,” Webster said, adding that the charges filed against him was meant to extort money.
Webster was arrested at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in his house in Barangay Tisa, Cebu City by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by Regional Trial Court Judge Olegario Sarmiento.
Webster did not resist arrest and went with members of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau. He is now detained in Camp Sotero Cabahug.
“Victims”
The two girls, aged 11 and 13, filed the complainant against Webster.
The girls said that during their aura development sessions, Webster let them read something they could not understand and they went inside a dimly lighted room where the Australian kissed them and touched their private parts.
Webster was arrested with his former girlfriend Joan Sahitas who allegedly recruited one of the girls to the session.
In one of the sessions, one of the girls was allowed to see Webster touch Sahitas, who fondled him in return.
But Webster, in an interview, said there was no act of lasciviousness during their session.
He explained that doing the aura development session is just like a yoga or meditation and this is for the girls to overcome their shyness.
“The problem with Filipina girls is they are very shy and shyness often leads to drug using. At age 14, she gets a boyfriend and because she is very shy, his boyfriend gives her shabu to overcome it,” Webster said.
Webster said the girls were not really interested in filing complaints against him but Lihok Filipina, a non-government organization that helps abused girls, convinced them to issue “fabricated” affidavits.
He believes there was an extortion plot behind the filing of charges against him.
Webster said he has been in Cebu for more than two years. He is a musician and he receives pension from the Australian government.
(March 4, 2004 issue)
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