Australian, Filipino arrested for sex, porn with kids in Cagayan de Oro

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Two men, one of them an Australian citizen, were arrested for allegedly having sex with children and uploading the videos of the act on the internet.

Lt. Col. Mardy Hortillosa, spokesperson of the northern Mindanao police, identified the suspects as Australian Matthew Aaron Clement, 42, and his Filipino companion as Julius Mandawe, 29, who is said to be a tattoo artist.

Police raided on Wednesday (Sept. 23) the house rented by the suspects at Canitoan village here. Aside from local police, the raiding team also included personnel from the police’s anti-cybercrime group and social workers from the city government.

Authorities were able to rescue two girls.

Hortillosa said the operation followed a tip about the activities of Clement and Mandawe inside their residence.

Discovered inside the house of the suspects were several sex toys, cellphones, and two plastic sachets containing alleged crystal meth residues and various drug paraphernalia, he added.

The suspects allegedly lured girls, mostly 15 years old or younger, through offers of “money, good food and good stuff.”

Authorities said Clement has been staying in the country for some six years already and the Australian embassy has been informed of his arrest.

Last July, a Filipino-American and his taxi driver-cohort was arrested for running a similar operation here.

TSB