CEBU CITY – Police arrested a 25-year-old mother for allegedly exposing her daughter and younger sister to cyberpornography in Minglanilla town, south Cebu.
Ivy, not her real name, was placed under the custody of the operatives of the Women and Children Protection Center-Visayas Field Unit (WCPC-VFU) following an entrapment operation on Tuesday.
Her 4-year-old daughter and 15-year-old sister were rescued during the raid and were now with the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7).
They would receive a psychosocial intervention, therapy, and rehabilitation.
In a press statement, the International Justice Mission (IJM), an organization that campaigns against online sexual exploitation of children, said authorities conducted surveillance operations against the suspect for several months after receiving reports about her illegal activities.
The IJM found that the suspect had been selling lewd photographs and videos of the minors to online clients.
Senior Supt. Romeo Perigo, WCPC-VFU chief, said there would be no let-up in the campaign against online sexual exploitation of children.
“We appeal to other people committing the same offenses to stop this illegal activity. If you continue, the police will find you and put you in jail,” he said.
The suspect would be charged with violations of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane said the law doesn’t exempt anyone, including parents who take advantage of their children’s vulnerability.
“The quiet neighborhood and the walls will not stop us in our campaign against Trafficking in Persons,” he said.
During the entrapment, Ivy offered to sexually abuse her daughter and livestream those acts to get money from a foreigner online.
Lawyer John Tanagho, IJM field office director, lauded the police for the arrest.
“Over time these operations send the message to traffickers that it’s too risky to abuse children. In fact, because the police have intensified their efforts against online sexual exploitation of children, more children will be safe from this violent and sick abuse, both now and in the future,” he said.