Two sisters arrested for online child sexual exploitation

Inquirer file photo

MANILA, Philippines — Two sisters were arrested in Caloocan City for allegedly engaging in online child sexual exploitation, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said Tuesday.

According to the NBI, the two arrested sisters were facilitators who were caught red-handed forcing children to perform sex acts for money during an entrapment operation on August 2.

“Interviews with the child victims revealed that they were not only shown naked on camera, but were also forced to perform sexual acts on each other, brother to brother, cousin to cousin, mother to son/daughter, on camera and in live view of strangers,” the report said.

READ: 4 minors rescued from cybersex den run by their own parents

During the same operation, NBI agents rescued six minor victims, including a two-month-old baby.

In a statement Tuesday, NBI Director Jaime Santiago said the investigation stemmed from information received from their foreign counterparts, revealing that one of the sisters had direct communication with foreign clients while her sister was making child sexual abuse and exploitation material (CSAEM).

The information was later confirmed after the NBI’s Violence Against Women and Children Division conducted surveillance operations, leading to the implementation of a search warrant, seizure and examination of computer data.

The initial digital forensics report also found hundreds of CSAEM conversations and sexual conversations with strangers on the suspects’ cell phones.

The NBI said the suspects are facing complaints for violation of Republic Act (RA) 11930 (the Anti-Online Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Act and the Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials Act), qualified trafficking under RA 9208 as amended by RA 11862 (the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022), child abuse law under RA 7610 (the Special Protection of Children from Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act), and rape by sexual assault under RA 8353 (the Anti-Rape Act of 1997). —Arianne Denisse Cagsawa, INQUIRER.net intern