Mayor offers cash reward to clamp down on cyberporn child abuse

cyberporn
The woman arrested yesterday under suspicion of creating footage of child abuse

A town mayor has vowed action after a woman was arrested for selling cyberporn footage of children being sexually abused.

As we reported yesterday (Wednesday, October 25), Meliza Ogaob from Cordova, Cebu, allegedly used a cell phone to film abuse, which she sold to foreign perverts for $50 each.

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It has since emerged that the 38-year-old’s victims included her own 13-year-old daughter, her mentally handicapped 17-year-old sister and a two-year-old boy.

Now the Mayor of Cordova Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho has announced a 20,000-peso cash reward for information leading to the arrest of perpetrators.

She said: “The reward money will be 20,000 pesos for those who can point cybersex dens in Cordova and it may be bigger depending on the information they can give.”

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As well as this week’s arrest, seven children were rescued after another cybersex den was raided in the town in September last year.

Senior Superintendent Romeo Perigo, Visayas Field Unit chief at the Women and Children Protection Centre (WCPC), said: “The WCPC has zero tolerance for these paedophiles who exploit our children.

“It is so unfortunate that our children, the most vulnerable members of our society, will have to suffer in the hands of this ruthless evil.”

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Earlier this week, chief of police Ronald dela Rosa admitted that the focus on the drug war and terror threat might have made them overlook the exploitation of Filipino children.

He said: “There are so many minors who are victimised by these cases. We have been busy in the war on drugs, terrorism, that we were not able to focus on our own children, even infants, who are used for exploitation. So now, we will target this.”

The WCPC is working in partnership with the International Justice Mission and the US State Department to crack down on the cyberporn trade.

Ogaob will face anti-trafficking charges and violation of Republic Act 10175 or the cybercrime prevention act of 2002.