Conviction of child porn producer lauded
Each year our rescues of abused and exploited children, investigations of OSEC, cases filed, and convictions secured are increasing due to our continued efforts to strengthen and scale up our response against OSEC
The Department of Justice (DoJ) has hailed the conviction of an American sentenced to 160 years in prison for producing and attempting to produce child pornography and receiving and distributing pornography of Filipina children
Justice Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay Villar said the conviction of Benjamin Walter is a triumph not just for his victims but also for other victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.
Villar, who is also the undersecretary in charge of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), issued the statement on the announcement made by the United States DoJ that last 4 March a federal judge sentenced Walter, 41, to 160 years in prison “for using internet applications to seek images and live transmissions of the violent sexual abuse of Filipina children as young as five years old.”
The DoJ official said online exploitation of children is one of the vilest of crimes that preys upon the most vulnerable, the innocent children.
“Most of them are left scarred for life and it is important for their complete recovery and healing that their abusers are held accountable for their crimes,” she stressed.
Villar said the country has “the highest incidence of Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC) in the world and the numbers keep on growing every year.”
However, IACAT has responded with great force to eradicate OSEC in the Philippines.
Most of them are left scarred for life and it is important for their complete recovery and healing that their abusers are held accountable for their crimes.
“Each year our rescues of abused and exploited children, investigations of OSEC, cases filed, and convictions secured are increasing due to our continued efforts to strengthen and scale up our response against OSEC,” she noted.
Walter, who hails from Decatur, Alabama, based on the US DoJ’s announcement stated that he was convicted by a federal grand jury for four counts of producing and attempting to produce child pornography and one count each of receiving and distributing child pornography.
“According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Walter used two web service provider accounts, including messenger and webcam applications, to seek women in the Philippines to sexually abuse their own children and relatives. Walter’s requests to these women, which spanned approximately three years, included directions to arrange for the gang rape of young children and to sexually assault several young children in other harmful ways,” the US DoJ said in a statement.
It added that Walter sent money to the Philippines for the videos, images, and live transmissions via Moneygram, Western Union, and other money remitters in $25 to $50 increments.
Aside from the live webcam shows, Walter also sent and received emails to which the senders attached images and videos of young children engaged in sex acts with adult men.
It added the investigation and prosecution were part of a joint Federal Bureau of Investigaton and Homeland Security Investigations operation that targeted the buyers and sellers of the types of webcam shows in the Philippines.