‘Cybersex operator’ falls

By KEVIN A. LAGUNDA CHRISTY, Sun Star, Aug 21, 2017

Mae Arriesgado cried after learning that she cannot post bail, saying she has a one-year-old daughter to take care of. “I want to get out of here,” she said.

The 20-year-old high school dropout was arrested in an entrapment by authorities for allegedly operating a cybersex den in a run-down wooden house of her father’s aunt in Sitio Salvage, Barangay Looc, Lapu-Lapu City last Friday morning.

Two 14-year-old girls were rescued and turned over to the city’s social welfare office. Arriesgado will face complaints for allegedly violating Republic Act (RA) 9208 (Anti-Trafficking in Persons) as amended by RA 10364 (Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons), RA 9775 (Anti-Child Pornography Law), and RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act).

These are non-bailable offenses. The suspect allegedly used a smart phone to record the lewd acts of the minors. She then sold the videos and pictures to foreigners online. Arriesgado, however, denied employing the two minors. She said she was only with Mandy (real name withheld).

Arriesgado, who is second in a brood of seven, also denied that she was into cybersex operations. Last Monday, a man whom Arriesgado believed to be from the Middle East sent her a friend request on Facebook. After accepting the request, they communicated until the foreigner asked for her nude photo for P2,000. She agreed. “It was only one full body picture,” Arriesgado said.

“But I did not receive any money.” Before her arrest last Friday, the foreigner sent her another message and asked for a photo of a naked minor for P5,000. At the time, Arriesgado said she was approached by Mandy, who asked her where she can earn money.

The suspect then took pictures of herself with the girl. Police and social welfare personnel then barged inside the house and arrested Arriesgado, who later realized that the foreigner she was dealing with was an undercover cop. Her daughter is now in the care of her mother Marife, 42. Marife could not believe that her daughter was engaged in cyberpornography.

Read more: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2017/08/21/cybersex-operator-falls-559577
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