‘Cybersex’ kids confess - Yahoo! News
'NINE-YEAR-OLD Mimi (not her real name) voluntarily posed in front of a computer-mounted camera for money.
That was the girl’s confession to Insp. Catalina Diotay, chief of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO)-Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD).
Mimi and the other girls, aged 12 and 17, were rescued by authorities from a cybersex den in Cordova town last Tuesday afternoon.
The grade four pupil’s 31-year-old mother and two other women were arrested. The women are 25 and 29, police said.
The rescue was conducted by CPPO’s Provincial Intelligence Branch together with Children’s Legal Bureau (CLB) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
PIB Chief Rodolfo Albotra said the subject of the search warrant who owns the house and the caretaker evaded arrest.
“During the raid, they were caught performing lewd shows,” he said.
Mida (not her real name), 12, shared the same reason with Mimi why she undressed herself in front of a webcam. She is the younger sister of the house’s caretaker.
“Wa kuno sila’y kwarta (She said they don’t have money),” Diotay said.
The 17-year-old girl, who hails from Mambaling, Cebu City, admitted to Diotay that she was in the illegal business for two weeks already.
Diotay said she cannot believe the girl’s admission.
“She’s into it for quite some time now,” she said in Cebuano.
Albotra said poverty should not be used as a reason for adults to use minors for online pornography.
He said they will file a human trafficking case against the arrested women and the other two, who are still at large. The Children’s Legal Bureau will assist PIB.
Evidence
The police official said they will ask the court to let PIB retain the computer and its accessories so they could examine it and uncover more evidence, which could strengthen the case.
He said they will continue to monitor the province for possible cybersex operations.
Most often, Albotra said online pornography comes out through social networking and dating websites.
“(A) lot of crimes have been committed (through the use of) Facebook,” he said.
He said Internet users should be “extra careful” in posting confidential information or pictures.
The latest raid, according to Albotra, served as a warning to the people in online pornography.
“Stop this kind of trade,” he said. “(It can cause) moral degradation of our society.”
Witnesses
Witnesses to the operation that rescued the three kids last Tuesday issued affidavits before prosecutors yesterday, indicating that the raid will, indeed result, in charges.
But no complaint was filed as the Office of the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor was closed yesterday.
“The rest of the documents are probably not yet ready. But that’s okay since in cases like these, the police have three working days to lodge a complaint,” Cebu Provincial Prosecutor Jane Petralba told Sun.Star Cebu.
Petralba’s office will conduct the preliminary investigation on the complaint when it gets filed. The proceeding will determine if enough basis or “probable cause” exists to indict the subject of the complaint in court.
The execution of affidavits by witnesses before a prosecutor is not yet part of that process, although the affidavits are essential attachments to the complaint itself.
Petralba did not reveal the witnesses’ names in compliance with to the confidentiality provisions in Republic Act (RA) 9208.
But her office recently indicted two people—a husband and his pregnant wife—for using six of their children, plus a 13-year old niece, in live *** shows to paying foreigner-clients over the Internet.
Like the operation conducted by the Provincial Intelligence Branch of the Cebu Provincial Police Office last Tuesday, that operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last June 1 was also in Cordova.
7 cases
The NBI, through Assistant Regional Director Reyes, filed seven complaints against the couple; each one ultimately led to indictments before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Lapu-Lapu City.
The respondents were charged for one case of “qualified” violation of the anti-human trafficking act, one case of child abuse, and five cases of violating various provisions of the anti-child pornography law–Republic Act (RA) 9775.
They were found liable for producing, directing, manufacturing and creating child pornography and for providing a venue for the commission of the prohibited acts.
If convicted, the couple will serve a prison term of 20 years, the maximum sentence under reclusion temporal. They will also be from P1 million to P2 million.
Even if handed down though, the sentence would be made irrelevant by a conviction for qualified human trafficking.
Qualified human trafficking, under RA 9208, is when the act is done against three or more persons, minors or by a syndicate. The penalty is a life term. All three children in the Cordova police raid last Tuesday.
Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Lolita Lomanta, in an earlier interview, cited the need for wider public dissemination of the anti-child pornography law.
RA 9775 was enacted in November 2009 and was cited in only one other complaint filed with the justice department in Cebu.
“Mere possession of any form of child pornography or willfully accessing child pornography is now punishable under this law,” Lomanta explained, adding that the intent is to stop pornography by dissuading demand and going after those who provide the supply.
Custody
The three girls rescued last Tuesday are now in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional office.
Jaybee Binghay, DSWD information officer, said she cannot reveal the exact location of the girls for security reasons.
At the undisclosed facility, the girls will undergo psychological evaluation, psycho-social intervention and stress briefing.
Binghay said the case manager will conduct an assessment on the children before an intervention plan could be formulated.
For now, the girls are provided with temporary housing and basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing.
As the raid is the second in Cordova town, Binghay said the raid should serve as an eye-opener for other local government units.
She also called for the organization or reactivation of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children.
“These (cybersex dens) are home-based. It would be difficult to detect and monitor unless a concerned citizen makes a report,” she said.
“There should be strengthening in the city and municipal level, the responsible parenthood services program,” she added.
The agency continues to pursue a program on marriage counseling, family welfare and for the protection of children.
Cordova
Cordova residents who have internet connections in their households were asked to register at the Municipal Hall, said Mayor Adelino Sitoy.
This way, he can monitor the cybersex problem in his town. He said nobody resisted or else they may be accused or at least thought of engaging in the online menace.
This move was not covered by a council ordinance because he believed that he can initiate this step as a town mayor.
In Barangays Cogon and Ibabao where two raids have been conducted, a total of 500 houses were listed with Internet access.
Sitoy said the number is quite high considering that Ibabao only has 3,000 residents while Cogon has 1,500. But this does not mean they are all engaged in cybersex.
Sitoy described the cybersex problem in Cordova as notorious, but on the flip side, Sitoy said the fact that the raids happened in his town shows officials are doing something about the problem.
After a couple was arrested in Barangay Ibabao for allegedly using their own children in cybersex, Sitoy said every Sunday, they have ricorida or a team assigned to roam the town announcing, through a public address system, that cybersex is illegal.
Every Saturday, he said they have conducted meetings with the Parents and Teachers Association with a representative from the Church.
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‘Cybersex’ kids confess
Originally Posted by dmelsie
But i do agree That Adult pede ani dapat.
otherwise, padayon unta 
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