Pinoys who planned to rape children were caught

The Department of Justice (DoJ) on Tuesday announced plans to prosecute Filipinos who helped a French pedophile livestream the rape of hundreds of teenage girls in the Philippines.

Bouhalem Bouchiba, a 59-year-old graphic artist who worked for Pixar and Disney animation studios, was found guilty of directing online harassment of teenage girls from his home in France and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Bouchiba was accused of paying women in the Philippines between 2012 and 2021 to rape and sexually assault girls, ages 5 to 10, on camera while he watched and gave instructions via livestream.

He is accused of complicity in repeated rape and sexual assaults of minors.

He is also accused of repeatedly engaging in the trafficking of minors, possessing images of child pornography, and regularly visiting websites containing child pornography.

The Department of Justice on Tuesday said it is closely coordinating with the National Coordination Center Against Online Sexual Exploitation and Exploitation of Children (Osaec) and the Philippine National Police Women and Child Protection Center (PNP) and is strengthening investigations and legal action against these individuals. He facilitated Bouchiba’s crimes.

Police became interested in Bouchiba after Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, sent a warning to the Philippines about suspicious money transfers.

During a broader investigation into the livestreaming of child sexual abuse paid for by Western customers, it was discovered that the streams were occurring and that the abuse was often taking place in southern hemisphere countries.

Investigators said that during questioning, he admitted to being a consumer of webcam sex shows featuring Filipino women and to visiting child porn sites.

He also told investigators that he first contacted women using legal adult-only sex sites.

But he would later shift the conversation to secure messaging sites, where he would offer to pay for acts of sexual violence against children, the majority of whom were between the ages of 5 and 10, but one was believed to be 3 or younger.

Each show costs between 50 and 100 euros (P3,172 and P6,345)

The defendant himself said he was in contact with 24 women and paid about 10,000 euros (P634,510) for 200 sessions.

In his statement, Justice Minister Jesus Crispin Remulla emphasized the government’s commitment to a “whole of nation” approach to combating human trafficking and child exploitation.

He noted that collaboration between various organizations, from non-governmental organizations to international law enforcement and local telecommunications companies, is vital in developing detection methods for financial flows related to child abuse.

“As a government, we are sending a strong message that child abuse, whether online or offline, will not be tolerated,” Remulla said. he said.

He also said the Department of Justice is taking proactive steps to improve communication and information sharing among cross-border law enforcement agencies. This initiative aims to ensure a rapid and effective response to cases of child abuse and to work towards closing the gaps that ultimately lead to an increase in these crimes.

In light of the case, the Department of Justice is investigating enhanced collaborations with money services businesses and social media platforms.

According to Remulla, these partnerships are critical to detecting illegal financial transactions and blocking access to platforms that promote harmful content.

He urged anyone with information about potential cases of child abuse to report them immediately, as proactive public involvement is vital in tackling these crimes.

Remulla noted that the seriousness of Bouchiba’s actions and the convictions of those who facilitated similar exploitation are an important reminder of the ongoing fight against child abuse in an increasingly digital world.

The Philippines amended its Anti-Trafficking Act and expanded the forms of exploitation included in the definition of trafficking to include the production, creation, or distribution of materials related to the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

The Anti-Trafficking Act, as amended, criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and provided for imprisonment of up to 20 years and fines of between P1 million and P2 million.

The amendments also expanded the list of actions by private sector entities that facilitate human trafficking and provided for additional financial penalties for such crimes.