Online sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines is nothing new. In fact the Philippines is the number one country in the world for that crime. So the following story would be nothing exceptional except for what the cops had to say concerning their methods.
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| https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/452905/7-minors-including-infant-rescued-from-cybersex-den-in-cebu-city |
Authorities here rescued at least seven minors, including an infant, from an alleged cybersex den on Wednesday, July 13, 2022.
Police Maj. Niño Lawrence Ibo, officer-in-charge of the Women and Children Protection Center – Visayas Field Unit (WCPC-Visayas), confirmed that enforcers raided what seemed to be a cybersex den in Barangay Luz, past 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
Ibo said they arrested a woman who will be facing charges for violating the Cybercrime Prevention Act or Republic Act No. 10175.
Law enforcers also rescued six children and a four-month-old infant. They are currently under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7), Ibo said.
The identities of the suspect and the rescued minors were withheld for their own safety.
So far that is pretty ho-hum. Sick, but your standard rescue operation of online sexually abused children in the Philippines. Now, here are the details of this operation.
Wednesday’s raid stemmed from an anti-online sexual exploitation operation conducted last 2020, in which the arrested individuals told investigators about the female suspect’s illegal activities, too.
Ibo said they were about to entrap her back then. However, lockdowns and mobility restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic apparently prompted the suspect to halt any online sexual exploitation activities.
“Nagtuo mi sa pagpandemic nga niundang kay wa na ni reply… After, nagbalik na, okay na (ni relax na ang lockdown), among gimonitor balik. Nagengage mi through sa bag-ong account,” explained Ibo.
On June 22, 2022, undercover enforcers from the WCPC-Visayas Field Unit confirmed that the suspect was active again. They dangled a $20 offer, roughly P1,100 in today’s rates, as bait to locate her whereabouts.
Based on initial reports from investigators, the suspect would offer to send nude photos of herself to foreign clients and in some instances, photos or videos of minors.
Ibo said the suspect even offered lewd photos of four of the seven children rescued during Wednesday’s raid.
They knew exactly what this woman was up to but were stymied in their efforts because she shut down operations during the pandemic? And it took them two years to confirm she was back to work? Was no one watching her during that time? No doubt she started up again much earlier than that or, what is more likely, she never stopped operating. In fact during the height of the pandemic reports of online sexual exploitation of children skyrocketed.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1103852 |
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday said reports of online sexual exploitation of children increased by 264 percent as the country is battling the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
In a statement, the agency's Office of Cybercrime (OOC) said the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recorded a total of 279,166 cases from its Cyberline Trip Report (CTR) hotline from March 1 to May 24, from 76,561 reports during the same period last year.
Why would the cops think entrapment was the best way to go? They knew what she was doing, they had probable cause, why not go get a warrant and bust down her door? They certainly had enough probable cause to try to entrap her. It does not make a whole lot of sense. Perhaps these children could have been saved sooner. But instead this lady was given two years reign to do as she pleased. These children are more victims of the government's unnecessary COVID-19 lockdowns. Not only was it economically crippling but these children were directly harmed by it.
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