6-year-old Jolene brought to safety from online sexual exploitation

July 2023

Jolene*, a six-year-old girl police were searching for for seven months, has just been brought to safety from online sexual exploitation in the Philippines by IJM and police.

Jolene’s heartbreaking story was featured in a recent ABC News documentary, when a trafficker was arrested for abusing her for sex offenders to watch online.

In the videos, Jolene was asking for the abuse to stop. But Jolene and her mother – who was also suspected of abusing her – disappeared before police arrived, sparking an international police investigation to find them.

Thanks to the perseverance of police, supported by IJM and people like you, Jolene was brought to safety last month. The trafficker has been arrested and can no longer harm Jolene or any more children.

If you’d like to go behind the scenes of the investigation that led to Jolene’s freedom, watch this 30-minute Australian documentary, ‘Inside the Global Taskforce Fighting Child Sex Abuse in the Philippines’.

Please be aware you may find parts of the documentary distressing. You can watch it with the knowledge that Jolene is now safe:

Watch now >>

Shockingly, online sexual exploitation of children is growing. This crime is driven by demand from sex offenders around the world – including here in the UK. 

Just last month, an English man was sentenced to 21 years in prison for sexually abusing children and moderating a dark website where he coached other sex offenders on how to abuse children.

But thanks to the support of people like you, IJM has helped police and authorities to bring over 1,000 children to safety from this horrific crime in the Philippines. We’re determined to see an end to online sexual exploitation of children, and we know together it’s possible.

We’ll keep fighting until every child like Jolene is free.

*Pseudonym. To protect survivor, image of actor used.