Florida man faces life for sexually abusing Filipino children

sexually abusing Filipino children
David Paul Lynch, aged 56, is facing decades behind bars for his perverted crimes

A Florida man is facing a life sentence after being found guilty of filming himself sexually abusing Filipino children.

David Paul Lynch, aged 56, was charged with eight counts of producing and attempting to produce child pornography, two counts of travelling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.

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According to acting US Attorney W Stephen Muldrow, Lynch regularly travelled to the Philippines between 2005 and 2016 to have sex with children and make recordings of the abuse.

Before his trips he would communicate online with people in the Philippines to organise children to abuse.

Lynch filmed himself sexually abusing at least three children on these visits and solicited child pornography of a fourth. The court was not told whether his victims were male or female, nor were their ages given.

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He was arrested in San Francisco while trying to board a flight to the Philippines on December 30, 2016.

A search of his Venice home found dozens of self-produced images and videos of himself abusing children in the Philippines.

Lynch is due to be sentenced on January 11. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Jennifer L Peresie and Eric K Gerard.

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He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years, up to 30 years, in federal prison for each production count, up to 30 years’ imprisonment for each travel count, a mandatory minimum penalty of five years, up to 20 years, for receiving child pornography, and up to 10 years in prison for possessing child pornography.

As part of the investigation, the Bradenton Police Department and the Sarasota Police Department worked alongside the FBI, US Customs and Border Protection and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 to “combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse”.

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