Pinoys who had orchestrated child rapes went on the hunt

The Department of Justice (DoJ) on Tuesday announced plans to prosecute Filipinos who helped a French pedophile livestream the rape of hundreds of young teenage girls in the Philippines.

Bouhalem Bouchiba, 59, a graphic artist who worked at the animation studios Pixar and Disney, was found guilty of directing online abuse of young teenage girls from his residence in France and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Bouchiba was accused of paying women in the Philippines to rape and sexually assault girls between the ages of 5 and 10 on camera between 2012 and 2021, while watching and providing instructions via livestream.

He is accused of complicity in repeated rape and sexual assault of minors.

He is also accused of complicity in repeated human trafficking of minors, possession of child pornography images and regularly consulting child pornography internet sites.

On Tuesday, the DoJ said it was working closely with the National Coordination Center against Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (Osaec) and the Women and Child Protection Center of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to strengthen investigations and legal proceedings against those who committed the crimes from Bouchiba facilitated.

Police became interested in Bouchiba when Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, sent an alert about suspicious money transfers to the Philippines.

It noted the flows during a broader investigation into the livestreaming of child sex abuse for money paid by Western customers, with the abuse mostly taking place in countries in the Southern Hemisphere.

During interrogation, investigators said, he admitted that he was a consumer of sex shows filmed by webcam and involving Filipino women, and that he also visited child pornography sites.

He also told investigators that he first contacted the women through legal adult sex sites.

But he then moved the conversation to secure messaging sites, where he would offer to pay for sexually violent acts against children, who were usually between the ages of 5 and 10, although one is believed to have been 3 or younger.

Each show costs between 50 and 100 euros (P3,172 and P6,345)

The suspect himself said that he had contact with 24 women and paid around 10,000 euros (634,510 euros) for 200 sessions.

In a statement, Justice Minister Jesus Crispin Remulla emphasized the government’s commitment to a “whole of nation” approach to combating human trafficking and child exploitation.

He noted that collaboration between different entities – ranging from non-governmental organizations to international law enforcement agencies and local telecommunications companies – is crucial in improving detection methods for financial flows linked to child exploitation.

“As a government, we are sending a strong message that child exploitation will not be tolerated, both online and offline,” Remulla said.

He said the DoJ is also taking proactive steps to improve communication and information sharing between law enforcement agencies across borders. This initiative aims to ensure quick and efficient responses to cases of child exploitation, and ultimately work to close the gaps that allow these crimes to flourish.

In light of the case, the DoJ is exploring enhanced partnerships with money services companies and social media platforms.

According to Remulla, these partnerships are critical in detecting illicit financial transactions and preventing access to platforms that promote harmful content.

He urged anyone with information about possible cases of child exploitation to report them immediately, as proactive public involvement is crucial in the fight against these crimes.

Remulla pointed out that the severity of Bouchiba’s actions and the beliefs of those facilitating similar exploitation serve as a crucial reminder of the ongoing fight against child abuse in an increasingly digital world.

The Philippines amended the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act to expand the forms of exploitation included in the definition of human trafficking to include the production, creation or distribution of child sexual abuse and exploitation material.

As amended, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act criminalized sex and labor trafficking and imposed penalties of up to 20 years in prison and fines of between €1 million and €2 million.

The amendments also expanded the list of actions by private sector entities that facilitate human trafficking and prescribed additional financial penalties for such crimes.