Trafficker receives four life sentences for online sexual exploitation of children
Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC)
December 2023
DAVAO CITY, THE PHILIPPINES
A woman in the Philippines has just been given four life sentences for child trafficking and abuse.
“This stands out as one of the most robust sentences we, at IJM, have witnessed in a conviction for a case of online sexual exploitation of children.
"Convictions like this help to intensify deterrence for this crime,” said IJM Cebu Director and lawyer Lucille Dejito.
The case stemmed from the arrest of a Swedish national involved in paying for child sexual exploitation material from the Philippines.
The Nordic Police Liaison in Manila passed on information to the Philippine National Police, who arrested the 32-year-old trafficker.
Social workers helped bring the woman’s six-year-old son and a female toddler who was under her care to safety.
IJM provided technical and legal support during the investigation and was consulted by government prosecutors during the early stages of the trial.
“This conviction is another testament to the government’s relentless effort in combatting and ending trafficking in persons, especially the online sexual exploitation of children,” Regional Prosecutor Janet Grace Dalisay-Fabrero said.
The trafficking of children to produce child sexual exploitation materials, including livestreamed abuse, is widespread in the Philippines.
IJM’s Scale of Harm study estimates that nearly half a million Filipino children were victims of this crime in 2022 alone.