Daily London
A disturbing number of Australians are helping drive child abuse in the Philippines, with 13 people charged and 92 children rescued this year.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) works with its counterparts in the Philippines to investigate online child sexual exploitation.
There have been 35 operations that freed the 92 victims, as young as six.
It led to 13 Australians and 18 alleged facilitators in the Philippines being charged.
They include a 74-year-old man from Western Australia who was sentenced to 23 years’ imprisonment for sexually abusing 15 children overseas over nine years, and a 52-year-old man from Victoria serving 10 years and 10 months’ imprisonment for 27 charges.
AFP Detective Sergeant Leesa Alexander is based in Manila and said it was “horrific” just how many Australians were helping drive the demand for child abuse in the Philippines.
“Child abuse is abhorrent and can leave victims with a lifelong burden,” she said.
Australian offenders allegedly pay for child abuse material from facilitators in the Philippines, who extort children as a way to make money.
Authorities believe Australians are major offenders because of the similar time zones between the two countries, direct flights from most capital cities and the large English-speaking population in the Philippines.
The Philippines also has excellent internet infrastructure.
AFP Commander of Human Exploitation, Helen Schneider, said every action online is traceable.
“Let me be clear, just because the offending may not happen in Australia, we will still find you,” she said.
The AFP refers matters to the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre (PICACC), which is a global response to online child abuse with help from authorities in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.
Those matters are then allocated to the Philippines National Police or the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation.
Since the inception of PICACC in February 2019, there have been 324 operations, which have led to 865 victims rescued and 187 people charged.
AFP investigations led to 77 of those people being charged and 315 victims being saved.
