Police have filed criminal charges against a man in South Cotabato for allegedly selling nude photos of minors to foreigners, the Philippine National Police Women and Children’s Protection Center (PNP WCPC) said on Wednesday.
In an interview with reporters in Camp Crame, WCPC spokesperson Maj. Shari Deseo did not name the suspect.
Deseo said he was a 25-year-old with a teacher’s license who was not practicing the profession and was instead operating a small internet cafe and selling snacks to schoolchildren.
‘A case was already filed before the prosecutor’s office against the perpetrator,’ she noted.
The case was for allegedly violating Republic Act No. 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act; and RA No. 11930 or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act.
‘He takes pictures of the children and make them pose in sexual ways, has them undress, and sells the materials to foreigners. on a social media platform,’ the spokesperson detailed.
‘Three of them were neighbors. One of them is the perpetrator’s sibling,’ she added, further saying the suspect offered the victims P50 to P600 to take pictures of them.
The suspect was arrested at his home in Banga town, South Cotabato last Friday, following a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to the WCPC.
During the arrest, the four male minors the suspect allegedly victimized – with ages between 10 and 16 – were brought from their homes to the province’s social welfare and development office to undergo psychological assessment. /apl