Couple nabbed over livestreamed ‘abuse’ of relative

CEBU, Philippines — There is no letup in law enforcement against the online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) despite lockdowns due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Operatives from the Philippine National Police’s Women and Children Protection Center – Visayas Field Unit (WCPC-VFU) arrested a 25-year-old female trafficker who livestreamed the sexual abuse of her underage female cousin and sold child sexual exploitation materials to a paying child sex offender abroad.

The victim, who is now 14 years old and under care by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, was repeatedly abused from 2016 to 2018, from the age of 11 to 13.

WCPC-VFU personnel, led by Officer-in-Charge Police Lieutenant Colonel Mary Grace Madayag, together with members of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office served an arrest warrant issued on February 26, 2020 by Lapu-Lapu City Regional Trial Court Branch 70 Judge Christine Muga-Abad. The arrest took place on April 6 at 8:30 p.m. in Barangay Canjulao, Lapu-Lapu City.

Jade (real name withheld to protect the victim’s identity) was issued an arrest warrant for violation of Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (R.A. 9208 as amended by R.A. 10364), Anti-Child Abuse Law (R.A. 7610), and Anti-Child Pornography Act (R.A. 9775) in relation to Cybercrime Prevention Act (R.A. 10175).

Two hours earlier, WCPC-VFU and LCPO personnel also arrested Jade’s male live-in partner, in a different barangay in Lapu-Lapu City. Judge Muga-Abad also issued an arrest warrant against him for violation of Anti-Child Abuse Law, involving the same victim.

Considered children at risk, the couple’s three children, all under seven years old, were brought to the custody of DSWD-7 for assessment.

According to the International Justice Mission-Visayas Field Office (IJM-VFO), in a press statement, the case stemmed from a referral that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation forwarded to the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center in March 2019.

The FBI was then investigating Alan Dennis Wolff, a U.S.-based child sex offender, who paid and directed Jade to abuse her underage female cousin in order to produce new CSEM to send him online.

In exchange for payments from Wolff, Jade also live-streamed the sexual abuse of her female cousin to him.

In December 2019, Wolff pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of children before a court in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His sentencing is set to be handed down this month, IJM-VFO said

A model for an enhanced global response against OSEC, PICACC is a cooperation among local and international law enforcement, namely the PNP-WCPC, the National Bureau of Investigation’s Anti-Human-Trafficking Division (NBI-AHTRAD), the Australian Federal Police (AFP), and the United Kingdom National Crime Agency (UK NCA) in partnership with non-government organization, IJM.

IJM is a global organization that protects the poor from violence. IJM partners with local authorities to rescue victims of violence, bring criminals to justice, restore survivors, and strengthen justice systems.  KQD (FREEMAN)