FOR exploiting three minors, including her own daughter, to gain money from online predators, a 32-year-old woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Emma (not her real name) pleaded guilty to attempted trafficking in persons before Judge Ramon Daomilas Jr. of Cebu City Regional Trial Court Branch 11, which is the designated Cybercrime Court for Region 7, on Wednesday afternoon, April 3.
“Engaging in Osec (Online Sexual Exploitation of Children) is a one-way ticket to jail,” said lawyer John Tanagho, the International Justice Mission–Cebu Field Office director.
Emma’s conviction, he said, was attained through the “excellent” investigation by the Women and Children’s Protection Center (WCPC)-Visayas Field Unit (VFU) and prosecution by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“The evidence in Osec cases is so strong that the accused are often pleading guilty, even to long sentences of 15 years or longer. This leads to timely justice for survivors and protects child-victims from having to testify in court,” Tanagho said.
Emma was arrested during an entrapment operation at her home in San Fernando on May 16, 2018.
The operatives of WCPC–VFU caught Emma offering to stream live sexually explicit acts by her daughter, then 14, to cyber predators in exchange for money. Authorities rescued the minor along with two other young girls, who were identified as victims during the online surveillance.
WCPC-VFU carried out the arrest and rescue operation with the help of the Women and Children’s Protection Desk and the Special Weapons and Tactics of the Cebu Provincial Police Office; the Department of Social Welfare and Development 7 and IJM.
After being made aware of the consequences of pleading guilty, Emma entered a guilty plea to attempted trafficking in persons and possession of child pornography.
Daomilas handed down a 15-year sentence for the trafficking charge and an additional two months for the other violation. He ordered the accused to pay P1.1 million in fines and damages.
WCPC-VFU Chief Romeo Perigo hailed the successful prosecution, which he said serves as a warning to persons involved in Osec.
He thanked partners from the DOJ, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking 7 and IJM.
For his part, Tanagho said the momentum to stop Osec is growing with more government agencies and other stakeholders actively working to protect children from this crime.
The IJM-supported cases have led to the conviction of 60 persons involved in Osec in the country since 2011. IJM has supported Philippine law enforcement agencies in the arrest of 194 Osec perpetrators and the rescue of 466 victims, including children at-risk, across the country. (PR)