5 arrested, minor rescued in cybersex den raid in Tondo
Arrested suspects in Tondo cybersex den raid. Photo from Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group.
The Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) dismantled a cybersex den in Tondo, Manila which caters to both pedophile and gay foreigners, leading to the arrest of five individuals and rescue of a minor.
In a press briefing on Monday, ACG head Senior Superintendent Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said the operator of the den was arrested in raid conducted last Friday at a building on Quiricada Street along with his four gay sex workers.
Den manager Edmar Arguelles Reyes alias “Emay” was caught with Mark Anthony de la Cruz alias “Mauie,” 23, from Caloocan City; Loyd Malicdem alias “Fiona,” 20, from San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal; Justine Marcha alias “Aica,” 20, also from San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal; and John Syrille Galicia alias “Julia,” 21, a resident of Seawall, Baseco Compound in Tondo, Manila.
Eleazar said the suspects, posing as women, are paid by their foreign clients to perform sexual acts through the website asiancamsex.com.
The cops caught two of the suspects red-handed engaging in a perverted video call with an ACG operative posing as a European client.
“Our online operative recorded the activities of the two female-looking suspects while they were wearing only underwear, fondling themselves and playing with different sex toys,” Eleazar said.
Article continues after this advertisementA minor was also rescued by members of the ACG Cyber Response Unit during the service of search warrant for violation of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 which issued by Judge Reynaldo Alhambra of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 53.
The said minor has been turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, said Eleazar.
The suspects receive payments from their clients through different money remittance services like Western Union, Palawan Express, Cebuana Lhuiller, Smart Money MasterCard, Globe Beep MasterCard and other payment systems such as Payoneer Prepaid MasterCard.
“The website (asiancamsex.com) offers the services of women and gay men providing sexual exhibitions and online prostitution, which can be accessed initially through account registration. Payment rates vary on the sexual activities that the client had requested through private pay-per-view sessions,” the police official explained.
The suspects are now facing charges for violations of sections under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012; Article 201 of the Revised Penal Code or Immoral Doctrine, Obscene Publications and Exhibitions and Indecent Shows; and RA 7610 or the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act before the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office.
Furthermore, the ACG cops are looking into similar cases of Filipino gays and their pedophile contacts abroad, specifically from US, Europe, other countries in Asia and Australia. RAM
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