WOMAN GETS 15 YEARS FOR ONLINE TRAFFICKING

Court finds 22-year-old guilty of peddling 2 minors in her house for online sex

Judge Jose Nathaniel Andal, of the Regional Trial Court Branch 24, has convicted a 22-year-old woman for trafficking two minors online last year.

Andal sentenced Cherry Love Taboada up to 15 years of imprisonment after she pleaded guilty to a lesser offense of attempted trafficking in persons during her arraignment last Wednesday. Taboada was also ordered to pay P600,000 as fine and damages.

Police charged Taboada with qualified trafficking in persons during her arrest in Barangay Tisa, Cebu City last Sept. 9, 2017. Operatives from the police’s Women and Children Protection Center – Visayas Field Unit arrested Taboada, along with another minor suspect in Barangay Tisa, Cebu City in an entrapment operation.

Taboada and her minor accomplice were caught in the act of attempting to peddle two minor girls aged 14 and 15 for online sexual exploitation in her house.

The rescued victims had been turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development 7 for rehabilitation.

Apart from attempted trafficking in persons, Taboada also pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography materials, where she was sentenced to one month and a day in jail. She was also ordered to pay an additional fine of P50,000.

Taboada’s minor cohort also pleaded guilty to qualified trafficking and child pornography charges during her arraignment last Dec. 6, 2017. But her sentence was suspended and she was placed under a disposition program pursuant to the proviplayers sions of Republic Act 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act.

In a statement, the International Justice Mission said the latest conviction is the 43rd for persons who trafficked children for online sex in the country.

“The 43rd conviction of an OSEC trafficker shows that the days of impunity are over for criminals trafficking children into online sexual exploitation. Justice for these precious children—only 14 and 15 years old in this case—is now the new reality that is here to stay as courts across the Philippines hold traffickers accountable under the law,” said lawyer John Tanagho, IJM-Cebu field office director.

“This conviction through plea bargaining is especially important because it protects the child victims from potential re-traumatization by having to testify in court about their abuse. A sentence of 15 years is still quite long and sufficient to punish the accused while providing justice and closure for the victims,” said Tanagho. /

International Justice Mission says the latest conviction is the 43rd for persons who trafficked children for online sex in the country.