EDITORIAL - Lured by Sweetie

A computer-generated composite image of a Filipino girl was used by a Dutch child rights group to lure pedophiles on the Internet. Reports from The Hague said that through the image of the girl named Sweetie, the group identified more than a thousand pedophiles from over 70 countries and turned over the information to police for appropriate action.

Some reports said the image of a Filipino child was used to make the online chat in English plausible to foreigners. That same Filipino proficiency in English has made the Internet a useful tool for purveyors of child pornography in the Philippines. And in this country, real children are used. Because of extreme poverty, it’s not unusual to find parents themselves trafficking their children for online sex and even actual prostitution.

The success of the group Terre des Hommes Netherlands in the Sweetie project should inspire Filipino cybercrime sleuths to intensify their efforts against online sex especially involving children. Several years ago, many Filipinas were lured to the Dutch city of Amsterdam with promises of employment as maids, only to find out that they had been sold into prostitution. A crackdown by Dutch authorities in coordination with international law enforcement agencies eased the problem for Filipinas.

Cyber porn is a more complicated problem, with most developing countries lacking the capability to smoke out operators and customers alike of online sex sites. In the Philippines, cyber crime units have been set up, but they can use more resources and capability upgrade. The Dutch project shows there are many individuals around the world looking for opportunities to sexually exploit children. These pedophiles must be stopped.