Police Rescues Three Minors from Online Sexual Exploitation of Children and Arrests One Suspect

TAGUIG CITY, PHILIPPINES— On October 23rd 2020, Philippine law enforcers conducted a sting operation that led to the arrest of a 46-year-old woman in her home residence. The woman was arrested for offering to livestream the live sexual abuse of her three daughters in exchange for money. The said operation originated from a 2017 referral from the Nordic Liaison Office (NLO) to the Women and Children Protection Centre in Camp Crame.

The rescue was then carried out by the Philippine National Police Women and Children Protection Centre’s Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division (PNP WCPC-ATIPD) led by PCOL Maria Sheila T. Portento under the overall supervision of PCOL Portia B. Manalad, OIC, WCPC in coordination with the Taguig City Police Station (CPS) and Taguig City Social Welfare Development Office (CSWDO) with the support of International Justice Mission (IJM).

The arrested suspect was then brought to Camp Crame and will be charged under local human trafficking, child pornography and child abuse laws. The three rescued minors are all female with ages 12, 9 and 8 years old. They were subjected to rapid testing to rule out infection from COVID-19 and are now receiving proper trauma-informed interventions under the care of the CSWDO.

“Quarantine measures are still a challenge to be dealt with, we just have to accept that as a fact, but we at the WCPC are not limited to these restrictions. With the help of our foreign counterparts, unexpected setbacks were overcome and interagency cooperation such as this is always a refreshing sight to behold. We go to great lengths to pursue justice for the most vulnerable children no matter the cost,” said WCPC Chief PBGEN Alessandro Abella, referring to the OSEC RACE training that was attended by his team.

“The rescue of these three children from online sexual exploitation will give the public assurance that our police officers are well adjusted to the new normal that we are currently experiencing. We will be sure to carry out our sworn duty to protect the most vulnerable children from online sexual exploitation from perpetrators who abuse them in exchange for money,” said WCPC-ATIPD Chief PCOL. Sheila T. Portento.

Source: Philippine National Police Women and Children Protection Centre