Five Traffickers Face Up to 15 Years in Prison for Online Sexual Exploitation of Children

Five Filipino women, who sexually abused and exploited children to make money online, have just been sentenced.

"My hope is for these convictions to deter criminals and prevent the abuse and exploitation of children from ever happening in the first place." - Prosecutor Clementino Rabor, Head of DOJ Regional Anti-Trafficking Task Force XIII, Caraga.

Local authorities arrested the traffickers following a referral by the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

The case referred involved an Australian national who was arrested for paying Filipino traffickers to produce and transmit child sexual abuse materials.

An Australian court sentenced him to more than 15 years in prison in August 2022.

“These convictions are a powerful example of what international collaboration can achieve." - Prosecutor Clementino Rabor

The operations, supported by IJM, also led to 15 victims being brought to safety, 13 of whom were minors. Among them were children of some of the traffickers.

To date, IJM has supported more than 320 operations, resulting in over 1,080 children and young people bring brought to safety.