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Gatchalian calls for restoration of death penalty for pedophiles

Photo by Sydney Morning Herald

Death penalty should be restored for convicted pedophiles, particularly those who engaged in torture and sexual assault of children as well as child pornography, Valenzuela City Congressman Win Gatchalian called on.

 

Gatchalian made the call following reports that the Philippines remains to be a favorite hunting ground for poor children who are used as objects of sadistic and pornographic videos that are being financed by a worldwide syndicate.

 

The worldwide syndicate has members coming from Brazil, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

 

“It’s about time that Congress re-examine the death penalty in the light of media revelations on the gravity of pedophilia operations in the country. Convicted pedophiles deserve the death penalty because of their dastardly acts against Filipino children,” the solon said.

 

 

Related Stories: Gatchalian calls for boost cops’ investigative skills before death penalty debates

 

 

Based on the Philippine Daily Inquirer report, the arrest of a Dutch national in the Netherlands last year on charges of child exploitation has traced the operations of child pornography in the Philippines, which uses girls ages 1 to 12 years who are not only forced to perform sexual acts but are also tortured to death.

 

One video showed a young girl being directed to perform oral sex by an older woman speaking in the Visayan dialect, which led the Dutch police to coordinate with the National Bureau of Investigation’s Anti-Human Trafficking Division or NBI-Ahtrad.

 

The video led NBI investigators to Barangay Violeta in Malaybalay, Bukidnon where they arrested 51-year-old Australian national Peter Gerard Scully, who is suspected producer of child pornographic videos starring young Filipino girls as young as 1-year-old.

 

“It was hateful, disgusting and painful to watch the babies being tortured and sexually assaulted, and listening to their cries could haunt you forever. Videos of young girls ages 1 to 7 performing sexual acts with older women were also among those uploaded by the group of Scully,” lawyer Janet Francisco, executive officer of the NBI-Ahtrad and officer on case had said.

 

Gatchalian noted that arrested pedophiles in the past were able to post bail and continue with their criminal activities because of the loopholes not only in the existing laws but also in the judicial system where corruption is also known to exist.

 

 

Related Stories: Gatchalian: LGUs must form special task forces vs trafficking

 

 

He cited the case of Douglas Slade, 73, a wealthy founder of the vilified Paedophile Information Exchange, which campaigned for child sex in the 1970s, has been repeatedly arrested for taking nude photos and molesting underage boys in the Philippines.

 

“Slade is a notorious pedophile with a history of arrests. He has repeatedly had child sex charges against him dropped and was caught on camera in an ITV documentary in 1995 boasting that he could avoid conviction by bribing prosecutors and the families of victims,” Gatchalian said.

 

Slade has built a house in the Philippines, overlooking an elementary school and allegedly lures pupils as young as eight into his home where he abuses them for the price of a pair of flip-flops. He is out on bail for cases involving pupils from the Amsic Elementary School in Angeles City, but he continues to lure students and paying them the equivalent of two pounds a time for sex acts and photos.

 

Gatchalian said the Philippine government should seriously address the problem of pedophilia and child exploitation and sexual abuse by supporting the move to reimpose the death penalty.

 

Gatchalian noted that even the Catholic Church is decisively moving against pedophile priests with no less than Pope Francis excommunicating convicted pedophile Argentine priest Jose Mercau, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2011 after admitting to sexually abusing four teenagers. (R. Burgos)