Australian Who Live Streamed Abuse Of 12-Year-Old Filipina Arrested In Sydney

A 63-year-old Australian man was arrested Friday in Sydney after he live streamed on social media a 12-year-old Filipina girl being sexually abused. He faces charges of procuring a child to engage in sexual activity outside Australia, using a carriage service (emails, text messages and calls and social media communications, etc.) to solicit child pornography, transmitting child pornography material and possessing child abuse material.

The girl was placed in the care of the Philippines’ Department of Social Welfare and Development after her rescue by police in the city of Rizal, about 100 km southeast of Manila. The rescue followed a joint investigation between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Philippine authorities. Authorities also arrested a 39-year-old woman in the raid.

The global problem of child pornography is a poisonous mixture of young victims, their exploiters and the “consumers” who are willing to risk severe consequences if they are caught and arrested. Children born into poverty are a prime target for the exploiters and while the Philippines is considered a developing country there is still rampant poverty where the welfare of a child is sometimes sacrificed for a financial gain.

The United States was the largest consumer but with more anti-child pornography efforts underway, Europe is now the owner of this dubious statistic. The AFP’s senior officer in Manila, federal agent Andrew Perkins, said: “Sadly there is an appetite for child abuse material online which leads to vulnerable children becoming pawns in a form of abuse that can have devastating impacts. The arrest and rescue send a strong message that, if you are taking part in this vile industry, law enforcement will find you.”

The arrest was the culmination of an investigation into the Sydney man and Philippine-based offenders after the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) referred the possible abuse to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation in July 2019.

Police in New South Wales in Australia raided the man’s home in Sydney’s North Rocks, seizing electronic devices they claim contained incriminating material. Investigators think the man communicated with people in the Philippines to procure the children, produce the images and transmit them at his request.

The name of the man was not released but he is due to face Parramatta local court on Nov. 22. The unnamed woman who was arrested in the Philippines is being detained by police and is expected to face charges related to the case. Police have not ruled out further arrests.

Police urged anyone with information to report their suspicions through the Report Child Abuse link on the AFP website, via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or their social media provider.

In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the U.K. and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.