Another Aussie facing charges

CEBU, Philippines - Another Australian national is facing charges for sexual offenses.

 Keith Robert Hutton, 65, of Sydney, Australia was accused of hiring girls, some of them minors, to do lascivious acts.

Yesterday, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed criminal complaints against Hutton before the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office.

Regional Director Antonio Pagatpat said their agents arrested Hutton during an operation in Lapu-Lapu City on Saturday. The arrest came after the NBI conducted surveillance operation on Hutton for two months.

Pagatpat said based on investigation, Hutton violated the human trafficking law, anti-child abuse law and anti-child pornography law.

Hutton was arrested inside his temporary residence along M.L. Quezon National Highway, Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City.

NBI lead agent Sixto Espenesin Jr. said based on the information, Hutton has been living in the Philippines particularly in Cebu for the past two years.

The information, he said, came from the Australian Federal Police through Australian Embassy Manila.

The Australian Federal Police requested the NBI to conduct a “discreet surveillance” against Hutton, who was “suspected to be a child sex offender.”

The requests were made on February 7, 2013 and April 2, 2013.

Espenesin said as part of his investigation, he stayed at the same hotel where Hutton stayed.

During his stay at the hotel, Espenesin said he saw Hutton with some girls entering and staying inside the Australian’s room.

Espenesin also found out that the girls were given money in exchange of doing “sexual lascivious acts.”

Operation

On April 27 at around 5 p.m., Espenesin said he and other NBI agents conducted an operation and rescued three girls, including two minors aged 16 and 17.

Aside from Hutton’s arrest, Espenesin said they were able to recover two laptops and two digital cameras with “pornographic photos or lewd photos.”

In a sworn statement, one of the rescued girls said when she first met Hutton, he gave her P1,000. On April 23, the victim claimed Hutton gave her P1,500 after he sexually abused her.

Hutton, however, denied the allegation.

He said he only felt pity for those girls and gave them money, adding that the seized pieces of evidence were not his.

Pagatpat said they will also investigate whether the management of the hotel has liability in allowing the minors to enter the establishment with Hutton.

Hutton’s arrest came two weeks after the arrest by the NBI of Australian Drew Frederick Shobbrook, 46, in Labangon, Cebu City for human trafficking for allegedly “exploiting girls for sex.” -/LPM (FREEMAN)