Couple falls in cybersex sting

CEBU, Philippines - Operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in coordination with the United States Department of Homeland Security yesterday arrested a couple in Cordova town for selling their minor children in the cyber sex market abroad.

The couple was caught in the act of exploiting six minors, five of them their own children, by making them engage in explicit sexual activities in front of a web camera.

The obscene acts of children were transmitted through the Internet to their clients abroad for a fee.

The NBI operatives together with a representative from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the US Homeland Security Department rescued the six minors with ages ranging from 6 to 17, and arrested the couple for violation of the Republic Act 9208 otherwise known as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.

Through the aid of a federal agent, who acted as decoy abroad, NBI operatives led by Special Investigator Jedidah Hife swooped down on the house of the couple at 9 a.m. yesterday on the strength of a search warrant issued by Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Meinrado Paredes.

The operation stemmed from a request of the Provincial Women’s Commission of Cebu.

Vice Governor Agnes Magpale, who chairs the commission, requested the operation after receiving complaints about the nefarious activities of the couple.

The NBI immediately conducted surveillance operations and requested the assistance of the US Homeland Security Department to act as decoy to confirm the report.

Based on the investigation conducted by the NBI, Rolando is hooked in illegal drugs while his wife is hooked on mahjong.

The couple will be charged for qualified trafficking, which carries a penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of not less than P2 million.

Of the six children, two are male and the rest are female.

Hife said that the raiding team also seized sex toys, receipt of the transaction, and a personal computer as evidence.

The six victims were brought to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).

From the hospital, the children will be brought to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for debriefing and to send them to school.

The suspects admitted the crime committed but claimed it was their means of living.

Section 7 of Republic Act 9208 or The Anti Trafficking in Persons Acts of 2003 provides that the privacy of both the victims and the suspects should be recognized, which bars this paper from naming the suspects. — with Mylen P. Manto and Gregg Rubio/NLQ (FREEMAN)