ABOUT 750,000 “online predators” in the world are just waiting for an opportunity to attack their victims, said the International Justice Mission (IJM).
IJM said the statistics was based on the records given to them by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In 2014, the Department of Justice received 1,000 referrals, or “cyber tips,” each month, said Evelyn Pingul, IJM communications, mobilization and advocacy director.
In the first four months of 2015, the referrals doubled to more than 2,000 each month.
The Philippines has reported receiving more than 2,600 referrals in a month, said Pingul. From 2011 to May 2017, about 201 children became victims of online sex exploitation.
IJM has helped rescue 201 victims of online trafficking in 58 cases, said Pingul.
Last May 27, police conducted an entrapment and rescued a 15-year-old from online sexual exploitation in Barangay Opao, Mandaue City.
The mother was caught in the act of offering a live-stream online sex show of her daughter to a foreigner in exchange for money.
SunStar Cebu is withholding the mother’s name to protect the identity of the victim.
The Police’s Anti-Cybercrime Group 7 received a referral from the Australian Federal Police that the suspect had been sexually exploiting her two daughters online by sending sexually explicit images of them in exchange for money sent by the Australian Stephen James Sheriff through money transfer.
The Queensland Police’s Task Force said that the mother began sending sexually explicit images of her youngest child when the girl was only 10 years old.
Sheriff was convicted for soliciting and accessing child exploitative images and sentenced to serve less than three years in prison in Australia.
The arrest came after Regional Trial Court Judge Jose Nathaniel Andal issued the search warrant against Sheriff.
Police seized several cellphones, which will be examined.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development 7, Interagency Council Against Trafficking 7, and IJM carried out the operation.
Charges of violation of RA 9208 (Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act), RA 9975 (Anti-Child Pornography Act) in relation to RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act, and RA 7610 (Child Abuse) are being prepared against the suspect.