Police Arrest German Online Trafficker in Lapu-Lapu City
Online Sexual Exploitation of Children
LAPU-LAPU CITY – Today, law enforcers arrested a 41-year-old German national for sexually abusing children and distributing child sexual exploitation materials through the internet.
Operatives from the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Women and Children Protection Center – Visayas Field Unit (WCPC-VFU) searched the online trafficker’s home in Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City at noon today. They found child sex abuse materials stored on his electronic devices.
His 2-year-old son, who is shown in some of the sexually explicit images, is now under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The online trafficker’s arrest came two weeks after police rescued two Filipino children, young siblings ages 6 and 7, who were victims of Darek (not his real name). While the suspect’s identity is not confidential, disclosing his real name will lead to the identification of his son, who is a victim.
The WCPC-VFU rescued the two children on 24 June in Talisay City. On 8 July, Judge Ramon Daomilas of the Cebu City Regional Trial Court 11 granted WCPC-VFU warrants to search the suspect’s electronic devices and home in Lapu-Lapu City for evidence of online sexual exploitation of children.
All the children are in the care of the DSWD and are receiving trauma-informed interventions.
Queensland Police Service found out sometime in 2017 that Darek, believed to be a computer engineer, had been producing sexually explicit images of Filipino children. They then coordinated with the German police, WCPC and the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center (PICACC).
The PICACC serves as a hub for domestic Philippine and foreign law enforcement collaborative efforts to combat online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC). The PICACC is a joint initiative between the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police supported by the Australian Federal Police, United Kingdom National Crime Agency and non-government organization International Justice Mission.
“Today's arrest of a German national shows the global nature of the crime of online sexual exploitation of children,” said Col. Romeo Perigo, chief of WCPC-VFU. “We are fully committed to arresting not only the local online traffickers, but also foreigners residing in the Philippines who are exploiting our children online. May today's arrest serve as a warning not only for foreign perpetrators living in our country, but for all online predators around the world. This crime does not pay. You will be arrested...it's just a matter of time.”
Regional Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane also took part in the implementation of the search warrant, representing the Department of Justice’s Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in Persons (IACAT) 7.
Also supporting today’s operation were the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group - Crame, Regional Anti-Cybercrime Office 7, Lapu-Lapu City Police Office, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Bureau of Immigration – Cebu District, and International Justice Mission.
About International Justice Mission:
IJM is a global organisation that protects the poor from violence by partnering with local authorities to rescue victims, bring criminals to justice, restore survivors, and strengthen justice systems. www.ijmuk.org