Man charged with qualified human trafficking in court for 'pedding minors for sex'
Non-bailable qualified human trafficking charges have been filed before the Calamba City regional trial court (RTC) against a man who was arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for reportedly peddling to foreigners online three Filipino minors for sex.
Charged was Jhon Patrick R. Carmona for violations of violations of Republic Act (RA) No. 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, as amended.
The filing of the case in court was done based on a resolution issued by the DOJ's Task Force on Women and Children and Against Trafficking in Persons (TFWCATIP) which found probable cause against Carmona.
“Respondent Carmona committed Trafficking in Persons, since he offered the sexual services of the three vulnerable minor victims to the undercover foreigner for a fee,” the resolution stated.
The resolution also stated that Carmona was arrested last May 16 during an entrapment operation conducted by the NBI's Human Trafficking Division (NBI-HTRAD) in Laguna.
The DOJ said that NBI-HTRAD acted on a tip from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (NBI) concerning an account on X, formerly known as Twitter, that was allegedly being used by Carmona “to market young boys to foreigners.”
“Using undercover agents, the NBI-HTRAD was able to establish a series of communications with the respondent which mostly revolved around the latter asking for money in exchange of lewd photos/videos of young boys via messaging application Telegram,” it said.
“As the familiarity between the undercover agents and respondent grew bigger, the respondent offered to meet-up with the undercover agent he was chatting with where three young boys were offered for sex,” it added.
During the entrapment operation, the DOJ said NBI operatives also rescued the three young boys.
“We will never stop nor slow down our campaign against human traffickers until every single one of them falls in the hands of justice,” declared DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla in a statement.
“The government is determined more than ever to eliminate elements who continue to prey on the vulnerable sector of society-children and women, the most. Let us build a safe and healthy environment where the young are protected,” Remulla also said.