A 56-year-old woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday, Jan. 28, for trafficking her daughter online in 2017.
Judge Ramon Daomilas Jr. of the Cebu City Regional Trial Court Branch 11 said the woman pleaded guilty to the lower offense of attempted trafficking in persons.
He sentenced her to an additional year in prison after she confessed to the crime of attempting to commit child trafficking, and another two months for possession of child pornography.
The judge also ordered her to pay P1.1 million in combined fines and damages.
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 and not more than P5 million.
Police arrested the trafficker during an operation in Barangay Opao, Mandaue City on May 27, 2017.
She was caught in the act of offering to sexually exploit her 15-year-old daughter in exchange for money from a foreign online predator. The teen victim was rescued and is now recovering in an aftercare shelter.
The operation, led by the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Office 7 of the Philippine National Police, was a result of a case referral from the Queensland Police Service, Australian Federal Police which had arrested a man for crimes related to online child exploitation, including possession of child sexual abuse materials.
Stephen James Sheriff, who was found to have solicited child exploitation material online, had been sending money through wire transfer services to the 56-year-old mother in exchange for sexually explicit materials showing her teenage daughter. According to prosecution evidence, the woman had been exploiting her daughter online for several years.
Mandaue City Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna hailed the conviction and praised those who helped secure justice for the victim.
“I commend the concerted efforts of our law enforcers, the prosecutors and the International Justice Mission (IJM) in ensuring the conviction of the accused for child trafficking. There can be no justice without a conviction. So, to all those who continue to exploit our children, be warned that your crime will never pay,” he said.
John Tanagho, IJM Cebu field office director, noted the impact of the conviction on the daughter.
“Justice is served with today’s conviction through plea bargaining and the 16-year prison sentence of the accused. And because of plea bargaining, the child victim no longer needs to testify against the accused trafficker. This result is possible because of close coordination between prosecutors, social workers supporting the survivor, and the other parties in the justice system,” he said.
The daughter, now 17, said her prayer was answered after her rescue. “I prayed that the abuse would stop. It started five years before I was rescued,” she said in Cebuano.
Her mother has accepted her fate. Speaking in Cebuano, she said: “God has a plan. He told me OSEC (online sexual exploitation of children) is wrong... A lot in my life has changed.” (PR)